The current price of iron ore at $100 per tonne is expected to drop further to $80 before the price would recover, experts said on Monday.
Japanese finance minister Jun Azumi has hinted that his government may renege on a deal to purchase bonds from their South Korean counterparts, reported the Wall Street Journal on Friday, after bilateral tensions erupted earlier this month following South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's visit to a group of islands claimed by Japan.
By Mike Kapsch, Investment U ResearchStrange happenings are afoot in the platinum market...Despite prices falling as much as 28% over the past year, investors are still betting heavily on further declines to come.
Great gobs of money continue to drain away from stock mutual funds.
'Republicans eye return to gold standard' reads the headline in this morning's Financial Times.
BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) may have shelved expansion plans at the Olympic Dam, but the mining giant is still on an expansion mode in other areas of operations. BHP Chief Executive Marius Kloppers disclosed on Sunday that the company will boost its coal output in Queensland by 50 per cent by hiking production at 10 per cent for the next two years.
The Australian sharemarket maintained its losses throughout the afternoon, to end lower for the third time this week. Despite the pullback, the local market has still improved for seven of the past nine trading weeks. Shares have jumped by 2 pct so far this month and are adding to July's 3.7 pct gains.
Minister for Resources Martin Ferguson belied on Friday speculations that Australia's mining boom is coming to an end. While recent decisions by resource companies indicate a slowdown based on shelving or cancellation of multibillion-dollar projects, there are many ongoing ventures as well as newly approved applications that show the sector is still robust.
The Australian sharemarket is losing ground following yesterday's modest improvement. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 0.8 pct or 37.3 pts to 4374.5.
Following a quiet summer, gold has just risen to four-month highs. BullionVault founder Paul Tustain puts the action in context.
By Peter Switzer, Switzer Super ReportNot surprisingly, we've seen a bit of cautious negativity on stock markets this week with the Dow Jones off three days on a trot.
What central banks are intervening in the market to support the Australian dollar, and what does it mean for gold?
By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 115 points or 0.9% while the S&P lost 0.8% to 1403 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.7%.
Following a slight pullback yesterday, the Australian sharemarket managed to improve for the second time this week. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose by 0.2 pct or 8.5 pts to 4411.8. The index is one of the most popular ways to measure market performance on the local sharemarket.
After a restless session on overseas markets the Aussie market opened higher this morning. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) lifted at the start of trade, helped by gains in mining and banking stocks, up 24 points. But by lunch the market had reacted to the weaker than expected read on Chinese manufacturing and lost momentum with the All Ordinaries Index only holding on to a 1 point gain.
The Asian Development Bank announced on Thursday the signing of a road transport agreement between China and Vietnam which opened a 1,300-kilometre road that links the two Asian nations.
By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 30 points or 0.2% while the S&P closed flat at 1413 and the Nasdaq gained 0.
The Australian sharemarket ended a touch lower by close of trade, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) easing by just 0.2 pct or 7.5 pts to 4403.3. On two occasions, the market briefly snuck into positive territory only to fall back into the red a few minutes later.
After a strong session here at home yesterday that pushed the All Ordinaries to a 3 and a half month high, markets in Europe moved higher overnight. As the trading day moved on money moved into mining stocks and commodity prices on comments from Chinese officials that more economic stimulus could eventuate in the next month or two. US markets fell away from the open of trade as investors took profits, especially in the tech sector, and the index closed below 4 year highs.
By Anders Aslund, senior fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics and Adjunct Professor, Georgetown UniversityIt has become increasingly fashionable to talk about Europe without the euro.
Despite the apparent slowdown of Australia's resource sector, mining giant CITIC Pacific expects full production of its $8-billion iron ore mine in Western Australia even if the project has been hit by delays.
The anticipated released of BHP Billiton's (ASX: BHP) full year financial results on Wednesday was not over an expected profit decline, but the mining giants intentions on expansion plans.
By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 68 points or 0.5% while the S&P lost 0.4% to 1413 and the Nasdaq fell 0.
The big infusion of cash that sent Mark Zuckerberg and his fledgling college enterprise on their way came from Accel Partners, in 2004.
Legal experts on both sides of the Atlantic argue that the SFO is too weak to live up to its promises; and say that the more aggressive U.S. system could be a far likelier source of prosecutions.
As drought conditions persist well into late summer across the majority of U.S. states, agricultural production continues to be well below normal, meaning consumers will literally be paying the price for so much crop destruction.
Oil giant spent $383m to protect oil installations and staff in Nigeria, reveals London-based oil watchdog Platform.
In today's Daily Reckoning we'll look at what the slowdown in Chinese steel production could mean for the Aussie gold price. We'll also show you why at least one Chinese policy maker thinks gold is more valuable than oil.
Hopes the European Central Bank will provide more economic stimulus saw local stocks rise today, with the ASX200 breaking through the 4400 point mark briefly, for the first time since May. By close, the ASX 200 (XJO) was up 19.1pts or 0.4pct to 4383.4 while the All Ordinaries Index index (XJO) firmed by 18.9pts or 0.4pct to 4410.8.
The once-booming resource sector in Australia is slowing down due to lower commodity prices.
