Minerals' prices go up - Anglo American profits

LONDON (AP) - Mining company Anglo American PLC said Thursday that first-half profit rose 27 percent on the back of high copper, platinum and coal prices.Net profits for the six months through June 30 rose to US$4.3 billion from US$3.38 billion in the same period last year. Revenue rose 13 percent to US$14.53 billion from US$12.88.«The key drivers of this performance were production growth in copper, iron ore, manganese ore, coal and phosphates, continued strength in the commodity price environment and the early benefits of tighter operational discipline across the businesses,» chief executive Cynthia Carroll said in a statement.

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GM has a tough 2nd Quarter

Today, GM reported a loss of over $15 billion in the 2nd Quarter of '08. This is partly due to a decrease in sales and many other factors, among which you can count a "$197 million charge related to the settlement of a nearly three-month strike at supplier American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc., which hurt production at more than 30 GM plants."

This is bad news folks. If one of the largest auto manufacturers in the county is having a hard time it's probably because, in spite of any official reports, our economy is at an all-time low. Of course, this doesn't help the upcoming election, but I think it's time to fact the facts.

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Caterpillar goes to Brazil!

Caterpillar Inc., the world’s largest maker of earthmoving machines, agreed to acquire MGE Equipamentos & Servicos Ferroviarios Ltda., a Brazilian manufacturer of components for trains. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
MGE also maintains and rebuilds locomotives and transit cars and its customers include railroads and transportation authorities throughout South America, Peoria-based Caterpillar said in a statement today.
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Canada's mining industry leads sustainable development

Kudos to the MINING ASSOCIATION OF CANADA's (MAC) Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) for their initiative on Sustainable development.

VANCOUVER - A new study by Five Winds/Strandberg Consulting indicates that the MINING ASSOCIATION OF CANADA's (MAC) Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative has positioned Canada's mining industry as a leader in sustainable development."MAC won a Globe Foundation award in 2005 for its work on TSM," stated Gordon Peeling, president and CEO of MAC. "This new study reaffirms that TSM is effective, credible and enabling our members to demonstrate their commitment to improved sustainable development performance."

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Casino goers celebrate!

Casino debuts new touch-screen bar table
By Oskar Garcia

Associated Press Writer / June 11, 2008
LAS VEGAS—Microsoft Corp. and Harrah's Entertainment Inc. introduced a high-tech interactive bar table Wednesday that lets patrons order drinks, watch YouTube videos, play touch-screen games and even flirt with each other.
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The tables offer Harrah's a new way to track its customers' habits and behaviors, adding to its sophisticated costumer rewards program that tracks users' gambling habits.
"Of all the goodies up our sleeves lately, this is one of the most dramatic," Tim Stanley, chief information officer of Harrah's, told The Associated Press. "The range of opportunities are fairly limitless."

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Unemployment galore!

Jobless rate leaps to 3-1/2 year high in May

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. unemployment rate surged to 5.5 percent in May, its highest in more than 3-1/2 years, as the barely growing economy lost jobs for the fifth straight month.

It was the biggest jump in the monthly jobless rate in 22 years and raised concerns the economy was at increased risk of stalling into recession.
"The unemployment rate is the shocker," said Robert MacIntosh, chief economist at Eaton Vance Management in Boston. "The actual payrolls number itself was consistent with what we have been seeing in terms of a slowdown but not quite a recession. But the employment rate gives you a much weaker economic outlook than the payrolls number," said MacIntosh.
The Labor Department on Friday said 49,000 jobs were shed by employers last month on top of 28,000 in April -- for a total of 324,000 lost since the beginning of the year. May's unemployment rate was up from 5 percent in April and was the highest since October 2004.
The soft jobs data helped drive stock prices steeply lower, but it sent U.S. Treasury debt prices soaring as investors bet it pushed back any chance that the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates before November's presidential election.

WHITE HOUSE UNEASE
It added to discomfort at the White House, where spokesman Scott Stanzel said the unemployment rate was "too high for our liking," though he noted it stemmed partly from more job-seekers and "not from a broad increase in layoffs"

The number of people in the work force climbed by 577,000 in May, up sharply from an increase of 173,000 in April. There typically is a rise in the number of young people seeking temporary work when school is out, the department said.

More info at: http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/06/06/jobs_cut_for_5th_straight_month_unemployment_rate_jumps_1212759939/