report, page-72

Hi mongombolo

I sought of relate to the rhino - huge presence & yet endangered, at ease when not disturbed, a tear in the eye for what is happening to the environment & capable of charging like no bull on Earth could do when upset.

I must say what great fun it was today; wading through all of that documentation provided by CBA & BHP while taking another trade in AOE & cleaning out my gutters!

IMO your general assessment of BHP's report is spot on - sad to see the body blow to income from base metals but that diversity just keeps on doing it for BHP. The analysis of the India & China stories also made for great reading. As for Klopper's cashflow, .... lol, they could buy countries or fund mining on Mars!

My only concern is what corporate use of bonds really means - hopefully it doesn't include executive remuneration of the kind we have come to associate with 'investment banks'. Ravensthorpe also aappeared not to be dealt with very well & may prove to be an ongoing embarressment.

Re the timing of release of the report - methinks that reflects their assessment of our boarse. IMO it was timed to ensure the first signs of market reaction would be on better regulated, more mature boarses such as the FTSE & NYSE.

Cheers,

Lapdog