MP charged taxpayers for study tour that visited coal mine investment in Poland

A Turnbull government MP took a publicly funded “study tour” to Europe that included a visit to a Polish coal mine in which he owns shares, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Luke Simpkins, a West Australian Liberal, slugged taxpayers nearly $5000 for his seven-day jaunt through Poland and the Netherlands in April and May last year.

But he did not disclose that he had a direct financial interest in the one Polish coal mine he chose to visit - the Australian-owned Prairie Mining project in Lublin, two hours' drive south-east of Warsaw.

China leadership driving steel output cut, says Cliffs' Goncalves

The Australian Financial Review reports that steel production in China will extend declines this year as the country's top leadership has endorsed a concerted push to cut back on overcapacity in the country that accounts for half of global supply, according to the head of Cliffs Natural Resources.

“If the central government has said they want 100 to 150 million tons of steel capacity shut down, they may not get that much but I'm sure they'll get some,” Lourenco Goncalves, chief executive officer of the largest US iron ore producer, said in an interview. “It's a decision and it's a task force led by the Premier Li Keqiang, who's the number-two guy.”

BHP Billiton told to slash dividend to bolster credit rating

Big investors in BHP Billiton believe the mining group will have to slash its $US6.6 billion dividend to stop its credit rating from being cut again, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Standard & Poor's downgraded BHP's coveted A+ rating to A in the US on Monday and said it was considering another cut if the company kept its policy of not allowing dividends to fall while commodity prices are falling.