Glencore readies for Rio Tinto, round two

Glencore chief executive Ivan Glasenberg's second attempt to force a merger with Rio Tinto will involve an attack on Sam Walsh over dwindling hopes of substantial capital returns, as he tries to win the support of Rio's biggest shareholder, Chinese giant Chinalco, by promising to sell key assets Oyu Tolgoi and Simandou, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

That’s the view of Bernstein's London-based senior analyst Paul Gait, who predicted Glencore would make a move on Rio in September, a month before Rio confirmed the approach.

‘Green horizon’ may force BHP to quit coal, says Mackenzie

BHP Billiton CEO Andrew Mackenzie said the company would need to gradually move away from mining coal if carbon capture and storage technologies did not prove successful, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Mackenzie said BHP mined coal for an economic return and was not committed to the commodity for any other reason.

“We are not committed to develop coal any more than we are committed to developing copper or potash, we make those decisions on an economic basis because they are the things we can put our people to work on so we can get a higher return for our shareholders,” he said.

Steel lift won’t last unless Asia picks up China's slack

Analysts believe China's surprise interest rate cut announcement may not be enough to stimulate the country's ailing residential property market and boost its economy, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Friday’s announcement – the first rate cut in more than two years – sent iron ore stocks in Australia surging on Monday.

But ANZ commodity analyst Daniel Hynes said it was unlikely to have a lasting impact.