Creditors could claim Clive Palmer's coal assets

A lucrative central Queensland cattle property and associated coal mining tenements worth millions of dollars are in the sights of administrators looking to claw back money from Clive Palmer's embattled nickel refinery, according to the Australian Financial Review.

As creditors prepare to provide an overview of Queensland Nickel's finances at a meeting in Townsville on Friday, it can be revealed administrators are also conducting an audit of Mr Palmer's assets linked to Queensland Nickel.

BHP has room to answer doubters as commodities rout batters debt

BHP Billiton's debt has scope to rebound if CEO Andrew Mackenzie can stick to his pledge to maintain a “solid A” credit rating for the world's biggest miner, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

A plunge in metal and energy prices this month drove the cost of protecting BHP bonds with credit-default swaps to levels unseen since 2009 and the company is priced as the fourth- riskiest in the 25-member iTraxx Australia index. It's more expensive to insure than borrowers such as retailer Woolworths, rated three steps lower than the miner.

Copper helps little known Peruvian Caterpillar sellers avoid mining rout

The free fall in commodities is reversing demand for the construction and mining machinery made by global behemoth Caterpillar. Yet for a little-known distributor of the company's products in Peru, things couldn't be busier, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Lima-based Ferreycorp is in high demand as resource companies from Freeport McMoRan to Melbourne-based MMG stick with plans to ramp up new copper mines in the Andean nation. The mines are part of a construction boom that will push copper output to a record in Peru, the world's third-biggest producer of the metal.