Bloomberg (September 25)
“China is the biggest buyer of Australian goods from iron ore to coal and food products and a windfall from recent elevated commodity prices helped Canberra report its first budget surplus in 15 years. If Chinese demand were to weaken, it would lower those prices and slim Australia’s trade surpluses, or even return it to deficits.” The Council of Financial Regulators (CFR) found that “The impact of a deeper economic deterioration in China will be mainly felt in Australia through weaker trade and reduced risk appetite in financial markets.”
Tags: Australia, Budget surplus, Buyer, Canberra, CFR, China, Coal, Commodity prices, Food products, Iron ore, Risk appetite, Trade surpluses, Windfall
The Economist (February 2)
“The iron-ore mines in Minas Gerais look like roughshod capitalism let loose.” On Monday, a tailing dam break released “a wave of sludge that may have killed more than 350 people,” making this “one of the worst tailings tragedies in history.” Furthermore, “this is the second such disaster in which” Vale, the mine operator, has been “implicated in just over three years.” This disaster should be a “cause for soul-searching” for Vale and for the global mining industry.
Tags: Capitalism, Disaster, Iron ore, Minas Gerais, Mining industry, Sludge, Soul-searching, Tailing dam, Vale
