down 7pc in a couple of days, page-9

BHP is about as good a buy trade as you could get in this market. The 5yr outlook is amazing - they can simply swing their wads of cash into any sector likely to boom, and extract a profit: Petrol will be 1/5 of BP's total production by next year, Unanium will be hugely upgraded and infrastructure increased to mine it. Add to the mix a takeover to boost their Nickel or Aluminum production (JBM, or say Alcoa) and an extra $2b next year is definiately a conservative figure. They have caught on - next year state that you expect $2b growth, but deliver 5 and then we'll see a re-rating. That being said, I fully expect the share price in the short to medium term to be trading over $30. An economic slowdown in the US will not stop billions (yes billions) of extra people in Asia buying cars and houses.