ERG Plans to Halt ISAB Power Generation Plant for Maintenance This Quarter

(Bloomberg) -- ERG SpA, Italy's biggest exporter of refined oil products, said it will shut down its ISAB Energy power plant this quarter for scheduled maintenance.

Erg will also complete a fluid catalytic cracking feedstock pre-treatment plant that will begin operations at the end of June, the Genoa-based company said today in a statement issued by the Italian exchange.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

European Mining Stocks Decline, Led by Rio; Reuters, Hanson Shares Advance

(Bloomberg) -- European mining stocks declined, led by Rio Tinto Group and Anglo American Plc, after copper prices fell to a five-week low in Shanghai.

Construction and media stocks rose after Reuters Group Plc, the world's biggest publicly traded provider of financial data, and Hanson Plc, the No. 1 maker of sand and gravel for construction, agreed to be bought. Nestle SA led food companies lower after Deutsche Bank AG cut its recommendation.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Yen Rebounds as Stock Market Declines Spur Sales of Riskier Assets

(Bloomberg) -- The yen rebounded from near an 11-week low against the dollar as a slide in Asian equities caused investors to sell riskier assets.

The Japanese currency rose versus all of the 16 most-traded currencies as investors sold higher-yielding assets funded by borrowings in yen. Stock markets in China, Japan and South Korea slid today, prompting them to unwind the so-called carry trades.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Japan not quite ready to declare end of deflation

(Reuters) - The government had the self-imposed goal of getting the economy out of the state where prices are falling persistently before the end of March.

But the gross domestic product data for January-March, due to be released at 8:50 a.m. on Thursday, May 17 , may not be supportive enough for the government to declare the end of deflation, some officials said.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Malaysian Bonds Gain; Government Says It Isn't Worried by Yield Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysian bonds gained after the government said it has no problem with the nation's currency strength and isn't worried by the plunge in domestic bond yields.

Yields on benchmark three-, five- and 10-year bonds have dropped more than half a percentage point in the past six months, falling below the central bank's overnight lending rate of 3.5 percent since end-March. The ringgit has risen 3.7 percent to 3.4003 against the dollar, near the highest in nine years.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Congo delays start of mining contract review

(Reuters) - A government review of mining contracts in Democratic Republic of Congo due to begin on Tuesday has been delayed until early June, Deputy Minister of Mines Victor Kasongo said on Monday.

Congo, which holds a tenth of the world's copper reserves and a third of its cobalt, suspended all negotiations on future mining deals on March 27, pending the completion of the review.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Yen matches 3-month low on soft machinery data

(Reuters) - The yen matched last week's three-month low against the dollar on Tuesday on surprisingly weak machinery orders data that underscored market expectations for the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates only gradually.

Japan's core machinery orders fell 4.5 percent in March from the previous month, well short of market expectations for a 1.3 percent rise and raising doubts about the strength of capital spending that has helped underpin growth in the past year.


Read more at Reuters Africa