BHP could sell off diamond mines November 29, 2011 BHP Billiton, the world’s biggest miner, is considering selling all or part of its diamond assets, which include the EKATI mine in northern Canada, as it focuses on large, long-life, scalable assets. BHP said yesterday it had begun a review to examine whether a continued presence in the diamond industry was consistent with its strategy [...]
Audi’s Sportback is worth the price November 29, 2011 IT’S early Sunday morning. I’d rather be asleep but my daughter has discovered insomnia. After two hours of trying everything to get her back to sleep I succumb to the fail-safe car trip in the hope of inducing her slumber. Outside it’s raining sideways. She’s wailing as I run to the car and wet by [...]
CAR TALK November 29, 2011 FORD FOCUS IN THE SWEENEY’S SPOTLIGHT A movie remake of The Sweeney is exciting enough. But Jack Regan will be played by Ray Winstone and he’ll be driving the new 250PS Ford Focus ST. We just wanted an excuse to show it because it looks so good. The Sweeney is set in London after all, [...]
Rio Tinto joins BHP Billiton in warning over weaker demand as economies dip November 28, 2011 GLOBAL miner Rio Tinto yesterday warned on that further cracks may be emerging in global commodities markets as the economies of Europe and the United States waver, with its customers increasingly cautious on the outlook. Prices of iron ore, copper and aluminium — among Rio’s biggest income earners — have tumbled by more than 20 [...]
BHP Billiton announces reshuffle of senior management as CFO leaves November 27, 2011 MINING giant BHP Billiton has announced a senior management reshuffle to fill the gaps as chief financial offer Alex Vanselow steps down. Vanselow is set to leave the firm at the end of February and will be succeeded by Graham Kerr, who is currently the president of diamonds and specialty products. In another promotion, marketing [...]
FTSE slump continues as Germany digs in November 25, 2011 THE FTSE 100 continued to fall this morning as Germany’s refusal to agree to a common Eurozone bond to shore up the bloc’s finances further drained investor confidence. London’s blue chip index posted its ninth successive day of falls yesterday and has dropped 7.5 per cent in the period – the longest losing streak since [...]
Australian mining tax clears hurdle November 23, 2011 A NEW Australian tax on miners that will cost the industry A$7.7bn (£4.82bn) over the next two years has passed its biggest hurdle so far. After 18 months of acrimonious debate that brought down former leader Kevin Rudd, politicians agreed to back Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s 30 per cent profit tax in return for minor [...]
FTSE lower as Eurozone business activity slows November 23, 2011 Investors remained hesitant today as grim new data on private sector activity around the world raised fresh fears of a recession in Europe at the end of this year. Asian markets closed lower after purchasing managers’ index data from China saw activity slump to the lowest level in more than two and a half years, [...]
CAR TALK November 22, 2011 BMW The World’s press have been driving the new, fifth generation BMW M5. The car’s 560bhp V8 engine replaces the bigger, less economical V10 of the previous M5 meaning fuel consumption is down by 30 per cent to 28.5mpg (combined). Capable of 0-62mph in 4.4 seconds and 155mph the new M5 costs £73,040 OTR. AUDI [...]
Glencore gets lift from coal and copper November 17, 2011 GLENCORE International said third-quarter trading in its marketing arm was “solid” as it posted a jump in metals output and announced it had become an oil producer yesterday. The trading update calmed the jitters of some investors, who feared the company could be hit by the market turmoil that triggered a quarterly loss at rival [...]