Glencore slashes Xstrata buy

Swiss-based Glencore Xstrata's first-half profit slid 39% as the world's biggest exporter of power station coal wrote down the value of assets acquired in the recent Xstrata takeover by $US7.7 billion, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Its underlying profit fell to $2.04 billion from $3.36 billion a year earlier, Glencore said. Including the write-downs, the Switzerland-based Glencore reported a net loss of $8.9 billion.

The write-down on Xstrata's “goodwill” reflected the fall in commodity prices seen in recent months as the Chinese economy cooled.

The impairments reflect “the broader negative mining industry environment and sentiment that prevailed during the first half of 2013 and the heightened risks associated with greenfield and large-scale expansion projects”, Glencore said.

Arrium leaps on upbeat outlook

Steel-maker and iron miner Arrium has backed the bleak view of fellow BHP spin-off BlueScope Steel that improvement in domestic construction might have to wait until the second half of 2013-14, partly because of election-related uncertainty, according to The Australian.

But the former OneSteel, which has reduced its exposure to its Whyalla steelworks by moving into iron ore exports and steel-grinding balls, spurred a 17% share price gain by giving an upbeat outlook for its newer businesses and revealing that in June, it hit targeted annual iron ore export capacity of 12 million tonnes.

Coal seam gas industry has to work harder to win over critics

The coal seam gas sector is now fully in the spotlight of a federal election campaign, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

While controversy over this growing industry has raged for several years, it has increased in recent weeks after the NSW Chief Scientist called for more regulation of the industry.

Public trust in the extraction of this sort of gas is low and the industry has launched a high-profile advertising campaign to combat what appears to be growing opposition among ordinary Australians.