Macquarie to pay $7.4M to settle Puda Coal lawsuit

A unit of Macquarie Group has agreed to pay $US7.4 million ($A10.2 million) to settle shareholder allegations that it underwrote a securities offering for Puda Coal without disclosing that the Chinese mining company was an empty shell, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Filed in 2011, the securities fraud lawsuit said Macquarie Capital USA helped sell $108 million worth of shares for then-New York Stock Exchange-listed Puda in 2010 while knowing that the company's main coal business had been transferred to its chairman and then sold or pledged as collateral to an investment fund.

Grazier challenges Hancock coal mine in Galilee Basin

A Queensland grazier has legally challenged a $A4.2 billion coal mine slated for the Galilee Basin because he doesn't want to be “trodden on”, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Queensland grazier Bruce Currie and his wife Annette are one of a number of parties objecting to GVK Hancock Coal's Kevin's Corner project.

The Curries claim the mine will be a direct neighbour and therefore pose a threat to two much-needed groundwater bores on their 63,000-acre cattle property, Speculation.

BHP Billiton's London listing under fire

A long-standing BHP Billiton shareholder is against the miner's new dividend-sharing proposal and expects a vote on it next month will trigger fresh debate on whether BHP should collapse its London listing, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Investors, particularly in Australia, continue to question the miner's steadfast commitment to its policy to maintain or increase its $US6.6 billion dividend payment each year, known as its “progressive dividend” policy.