Reserve Bank economists say job losses in mining industry are not a bad thing

The large fall-off in mining construction in coming years will not push up unemployment, even though the resource sector is expect to shed 60,000 construction jobs by 2018, Reserve Bank economists say, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

They also believe the Australian economy will be able to ride out China’s delicate economic rebalancing because that rebalancing will take years and will be gradual enough to allow Australian commodity exporters to adjust.

Poisoned fruit triggers security alarm at Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill mine

Executives at Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill mine in Western Australia have asked the police to investigate an attempted poisoning at the mine’s construction site in the Pilbara, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The company said in a statement that on December 15 that a contractor working at the site notice an “unusual discolouration” inside a piece of fruit from the mine site’s dining hall.

Oil producers to feel pinch as prices slide

Both crude oil and liquefied natural gas prices are likely to face further downward pressure into 2015, forcing producers to adapt to a weaker short-term environment before conditions improve, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Global energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie has forecast crude oil markets will “struggle to find balance” in 2015 and cited the strength of oil demand growth as a “major concern”

Crude oil prices have already tumbled by more than half since June, with Brent crude oil down from $US115 a barrel to about $US61.