Thursday, March 24, 2011

Quick Overview

  • China is hiking taxes on the mining of rare earth elements amid moves to mitigate environmental damage, control production levels and limit exports. Taxes will rise to either 30 Yuan ($4.5) or 60 Yuan ($9) per ton, depending on whether the elements are categorized as light or heavy.
  • China, which controls about 95 percent of global shipments of rare earths, may start importing some of the material to meet rising domestic demand, according to Liu Junhua, a Chinese official.
  • MCP

  • The U.S. Interior Department said it would open up to mining land in Wyoming estimated to contain 758 million tons of low sulfur coal, in a move praised by the coal industry and condemned by environmental groups.

  • A collapse of the euro currency was not "unthinkable" if it comes under too much strain, Buffett said.

  • U.K retail sales fell by 0.8% in February - weaker than expected.

  • A 7.0-magnitude earthquake rattled Myanmar.

  • U.S. durable goods in February posted the biggest drop in four months, falling 0.9%.

  • The IGC estimates world grain production to rise 4.6% to an all-time high of 1.805bn tonnes. However, even this estimate, which assumed a 4% rise in sowings to a 13-year high of 537m hectares, would be insufficient to restore production above demand.

  • (WSJA) China may not be able to meet sharply rising food demand from its domestic resources, a senior Chinese agriculture official said, indicating room for further growth in imports.




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