The big utilities have only just begun to see their thermal power businesses turn profitable after hemorrhaging billions over the past five years due to soaring coal prices.
The collapse of a river bank where a floating pier was moored has halted shipments by global miner Anglo American from its iron ore operation in Amapa state in Northern Brazil, the company said on Saturday.
Traders are bracing for a replay of the April squeeze that made copper expensive to obtain quickly, saying major trader Glencore controls almost half the inventories of the commodity held in London Metal Exchange-registered warehouses worldwide.
London copper futures turned negative on Thursday, after manufacturing data on China that showed factory activity in the world's top metals consumer shrank for a fifth month.
London copper edged higher for a second straight session on Tuesday after an orderly auction of Greek default insurance eased concerns about Greece's threat to the euro zone and eroded safe-haven support for the dollar.
Australia's trade account unexpectedly dived into the red in January as exports to China were hit by the Lunar holiday and shipments of gold took a steep drop, making a soft start to the year for one of the country's success stories.
London copper slipped on Thursday as gains in the past month kept Chinese buyers at bay and the euro zone debt crisis continued to weigh on sentiment, but upbeat global manufacturing data is expected to keep a floor under prices.
London copper hit a four-month high on Thursday after news that the International Monetary Fund was seeking to raise funds to tackle the euro zone debt crisis tempered worries over European funding troubles and boosted risk appetite.
Giant German utility E.ON said on Wednesday it will team with Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista to build the largest privately held network of power plants in Brazil, as it bets on emerging markets amid stagnant growth in Europe.
China is planning to cap coal consumption in a number of pilot regions as part of its plans to increase the use of clean energy and cut air pollution, the 21st Century Business Herald newspaper reported on Friday.
By ULAN BATOR, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Global miner Rio Tinto is fighting a legacy of bad publicity as it tries to persuade the Mongolian public a $10 billion copper deposit it took over from Ivanhoe Mines last year is in safe hands. Some Mongolian
