No image available
/ 21 May 2008

Oil rises above $129, near record high

Oil held above a barrel on Wednesday, within sight of the previous session’s record high, supported by a weak United States dollar and concern about supplies. Attention will shift later to a US government report expected to show that crude inventories rose for a fifth straight time last week while petrol and distillates supplies also increased.

No image available
/ 16 May 2008

Resources boost JSE to new high

South African stocks hit another fresh high on Friday morning, boosted by strong gains for resources. At 11.56am, the all-share index was up 0,82%, boosted by a 1,48% rise in resources and a 2,06% gain for the platinum-mining index. Banks were up 0,37% and financials were 0,61% better. Industrial were flat (-0,03%) and the gold-mining index eased 0,80%.

No image available
/ 19 April 2008

Oil hits new record $117 a barrel

Oil prices hit a record high a barrel on Friday as jitters over Nigerian oil supplies outweighed a rally in the dollar and fears of an economic slowdown in giant energy consumer China. United States light crude settled up ,83 at ,96 a barrel, before hitting a record . London Brent crude gained ,49 to ,92.

No image available
/ 16 April 2008

Nature oasis flourishes in Belgium’s coal belt

Fringed by dark hills of coal waste and long-shuttered collieries, Belgium’s first national park might seem a humble contender for the role of global model for conservation and economic regeneration. The pine woods and heather meadows of the Hoge Kempen Park in north-eastern Belgium sit on a small plateau above criss-crossing motorways and cooling towers.

No image available
/ 22 March 2008

Central banks in mortgage crisis talks

Central banks on both sides of the Atlantic are in talks about the feasibility of mass purchases of mortgage-backed securities in a bid to solve the global credit crisis, the Financial Times said on Saturday. The newspaper, without citing sources, said the talks were at an early stage and part of a broader exchange on how to battle the turmoil in financial markets,

No image available
/ 21 March 2008

Oil extends slide on economic worries

Oil prices extended a week-long slide on Thursday, briefly tumbling below a barrel for the first time in two weeks amid growing concerns an economic slowdown in top consumer the United States would cut global energy demand. US crude settled down 70 cents to ,84 a barrel after falling as low as ,65 earlier in the session