F33 Basic Material Wholesaling

Eddington cheers a ‘new wave’ from Japan

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Original article by Rick Wallace, Rowan Callick
The Australian – Page: 19 : 31-Jul-14

Prominent Australian businessman Sir Rod Eddington predicts increased investment by Japanese entities, including major trading houses Mitsui, Sumitomo and Mitsubishi, under a new free-trade agreement. He also notes that the services sector will be a major beneficiary in terms of exports to Japan, apart from the more obvious agricultural industry. However Wesfarmers non-executive director and Strategy& chair Vanessa Wallace notes that Australian businesses currently account for under 1% of all foreign companies with operations in Japan

CORPORATES
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, COOGEE CHEMICALS PTY LTD, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, SUMITOMO CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

‘Murky’ barriers must be cleared

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 19 : 16-Jul-14

Andrew Mackenzie, CEO of BHP Billiton, is also the co-ordinating chair of the trade taskforce at the Business 20 (B20) forum that flanks the Group of 20 (G20) summit later in 2014. He has called on the Australian Government to put trade barriers on the agenda for the G20, during its presidency of the body. A B20 gathering is being held in Sydney in mid-July 2014, ahead of a G20 trade ministers’ meeting. Mackenzie has commented that in the last seven years, 1,500-plus new trade impediments that are not tariffs have been created

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BUSINESS 20 (B20), GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Fortescue exec tips rebound for iron ore price

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Original article by Andrew Burrell
The Australian – Page: 17-18 : 30-Jun-14

Fortescue Metals Group is confident that the price of iron ore will recover. CFO Stephen Pearce feels that the drop to $US89 a tonne on 16 June 2014 was the bottom of the trough in the present price cycle. He believes that the price will rise to about $US110 a tonne and remain at that level for a while. His view is based on strong Chinese economic data and the market adjustment to the increase in supply. Pearce warned that prices of $US150 and above were not likely to occur again

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Iron ore price fall hits minnows

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald, Michael Owen
The Australian – Page: 21 and 22 : 20-Jun-14

Iron ore mining groups in Australia may lose revenue worth $US30bn ($A32.5bn) combined due to the decline in the price of the commodity. It traded at $US90.30 per tonne on 19 June 2018, down $US44.70 from the average seen in calendar 2013. Especially hard hit will be smaller producers with operations that have high input costs, and already Ferrier Hodgson has been made administrator of Termite Resources. The company owned by IMX Resources and Taifeng Yuan Chuang International started shipments from its Cairn Hill mine in South Australia in late 2010. The iron ore price at that time was $US170

CORPORATES
IMX RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX IXR, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, TERMITE RESOURCES NL, TAIFENG YUANCHUANG INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LIMITED, FERRIER HODGSON AND COMPANY, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, MMG PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE

Glut forces FMG to offer big discounts

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Original article by Lisa Murray, Angus Grigg
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 18-Jun-14

New apartment sales and construction in China have declined significantly, creating a knock-on effect for steel prices and therefore iron ore exporters in Australia. The latter commodity’s price has fallen 34% between the start of calendar 2014 and mid-June, to $US89 a tonne. Fortescue Metals Group, which has ramped up production of lower-grade ore from 60 million tonnes per annum to 150 million since 2012, is lifting the discount it offers Chinese buyers to 14% from 1 July. This compares with just 2% in mid-2013

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, STEEL HOME, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PLATTS, J CAPITAL RESEARCH COMPANY LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG