BHP gives Barnett the finger, page-41

"...genuine aussie legends like twiggy..."

How much has the 150mtppa of capacity that "twiggy" brought on stream over the past 5 years contributed to the current oversupply?


"..in fact,the possible inquiry into bhp and rio about "price manipulation' has been endorsed by our PM."

Unless they have somehow been able to convince the Chinese steel industry to slow its rate of production, then I'm not sure how they are "manipulating the price".

Far, far more likely - in fact, almost with 100% certainty - what's happening here is a classical commodity cycle with prices that went up too far, and now they are normalising again... just like the price cycle for coal, nickel, pork bellies, wheat, soy, palm oil, rubber or orange juice, for that matter.

Have a look at the long-term price for iron ore... its long-term mean is around the current price. The only time it reached anything close to $150/t - which is the level where "Twiggy's" inferior quality mines made good profits - was during one short period of history, i.e. two years ago.

Why people bleat and complain because the price of a certain commodity refuses to remain at a level where:

1) almost all of the producers of that commodity generate egregious financial returns, and
2) it bears no resemblance whatsoever to history,

simply defies reason.

That the price of a commodity product reverts to a price level that is equal to the marginal cost of production is a time-honoured economic axiom.

That some people expect the fundamental laws of economics to be suspended just because those people got sucked in to investing - or not selling - at the top of the cycle, smacks to me of an inability to assume accountability for their actions and instead reflects a desperation to assign blame somewhere.

[Also, I may have missed it, but I'm not sure the PM has "endorsed" any enquiry at all. Feel free to quote where he has done so that I may cease to labour under a misapprehension.

And besides, the last category of people I take my cues from when it comes to what is rational or reasonable are politicians who, my long experience has taught me, are motivated by little than political expediency. As case in point, this is the same PM who presided over a "budget emergency" this time last year, and yet is now sanctioning the mother of all government spending sprees that makes its predecessor government look fiscally prudent by comparison.

(And to pre-empt your potential riposte, I am a Liberal voter of some two decades' standing.)]


"....you can not get a stronger endorsement that possible corruption/collusion was rampant,and now these alleged multinational tax dodgers and price fixers are looking like crims on death row."

Can you provide just one skerrick of evidence of corruption/collusion, tax dodging and criminal activity by BHP or RIO?

(And to pre-empt your asking, no, I am certainly not a shareholder in BHP nor RIO. Never have been. And never will be.)