Sponsored by Rio tinto

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.11 percent, Dow Jones futures unchanged and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.11 percent at 4 a.m. EST.

Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd expects an investigation into loss making fuel-hedging in its Vietnamese joint venture airline to run for months after two executives were barred from leaving the country.

Shares in uranium producers offer prospects of long-term gains as China ramps up ambitious growth in its nuclear industry, but the ride may be rough due to excess near-term supplies from expanding mines and inventories.

Asian stocks held most of the week's gains before monthly U.S. jobs data on Friday, although property and bank shares fell in many markets as soft U.S. data raised concerns about the pace of economic recovery.

Global miner BHP Billiton dismissed talk on Thursday that rival Rio Tinto was baulking at a proposed $116 billion joint venture in iron ore, insisting the two were close to a binding agreement.

Three detained Chinese employees of Australian miner Rio Tinto appeared healthy and calm, their defense lawyers said on Wednesday after visiting their clients for the first time early this week.

Despite unveiling a face-saving iron ore deal with Australia's Fortescue Metals Group on Monday, China's embattled steel industry body CISA seems to be ceding its grip on the levers of China's iron ore pricing talks.

Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto said on Tuesday it had yet to be presented with any evidence to support the detention of four of its China-based staff on suspicions of stealing state secrets.

Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto has yet to be presented with any evidence to support the detention of four of its China-based staff on suspicions of stealing state secrets, the firm said on Tuesday.

China's state secrets watchdog has accused mining multinational Rio Tinto of engaging in commercial spying over six years, saying data on Rio computers showed the espionage came at a huge loss to China.

A journal issued by China's state secrets watchdog has accused the mining multinational Rio Tinto of commercial spying over six years, saying data found on Rio computers showed the espionage had come at a huge cost to China.

Spot iron ore vessel bookings from Brazil to China jumped to a record in July as Australia suspended spot sales following detentions of Rio Tinto's top sales officials in China and as falling freight costs made longer haul trade attractive.

Australia's trade minister said on Monday that Australia wants more details on the detained employees of miner Rio Tinto from China quickly, but said the case would not hurt economic relations if handled properly.

The detention of Rio Tinto executives on spying accusations has allegedly wreaked havoc on the world's second-largest iron ore miner's sales in China, as the nation's steel mills took a wait-and-see approach on ore imports from the Anglo- Australian conglomerate, Chinese State media reported on Wednesday.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd warned China on Wednesday it had significant economic interests at stake in detaining an Australian mining executive on spying charges and the world was watching how it handled the case.

Australia warned China on Sunday of the risks to business confidence from the detention without charge of an Australian executive accused of stealing state secrets, and Chinese executives feared a wider purge.

The Australian government is prepared for a long haul in dealing with China's detention of a senior Australian mining executive on suspicion of stealing state secrets, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said on Sunday.

'New GM' may launch today, Officials to meet with detained Rio exec, Small-Cap earnings

China backed down on iron ore prices, signing up to the same 33 percent price cut agreed by Asian rivals but only for a six-month period rather than a full year, the China Business News said on Wednesday, citing informed sources it did not name.

Global mining giant Rio Tinto said on Tuesday four of its employees in Shanghai had been detained by the Chinese authorities.

Less profitable skies as airlines report dropping June traffic, Judge approves sale to New GM, Rio Tinto sells food packaging division for $1.2 billion

High Volume Trading Codes at Goldman Sachs Stolen: FBI, Judge approves sale to New GM, Rio Tinto sells food packaging division for $1.2 billion

Ericsson said its chief executive, Carl-Henric Svanberg, was stepping down to become chairman of BP Plc in a surprise appointment that ends the oil major's fraught search for a successor to Peter Sutherland.

Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton's proposed iron-ore joint venture has a strong monopolistic flavor and Chinese firms are actively seeking ways to cope with it, state media on Wednesday cited a senior official as saying.

Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) and BHP Billiton's (BLT.L) proposed iron-ore joint venture has a strong monopolistic flavour and Chinese firms are actively seeking ways to cope with it, state media on Wednesday cited a senior official as saying.

Last week hosting the Americans. Next week visiting Russia. China's busy diplomacy amid the economic crisis reflects growing sway that some say has brought the moment for Beijing to don the cape of a full super-power.

World stocks extended gains on Friday, rising toward this week's 7-1/2 month high after better-than-expected U.S. employment data reinforced investors' hopes that the world's biggest economy has passed its worst.

Rio Tinto dumped plans for a landmark investment from China on Friday, opting instead to raise $21 billion through a rights issue and a joint venture with one-time suitor BHP Billiton.

The Aussie dollar held firm in local trade yesterday despite a massive and unexpected turnaround in the countries trade balance.