China may not meet FY growth target

China’s economy grew by 7.5% in the second quarter, meeting the financial markets' expectations, but fears remain that the world's fastest-growing nation will miss its official growth targets this year, according to The Australian.

The result was the fifth straight quarter in which the economy expanded by less than 8%, the average growth rate of the past few years.

Outlook fails to quell ore appetite

Dire predictions of slumping iron ore prices and warnings of the end of the commodities super-cycle are not deterring some deep-pocketed, long-view investors – whose appetite for the steelmaking raw material is driving mining-asset mergers and acquisitions activity from Australia to Canada, according to The Australian.

But the short-term outlook for iron ore is not good.

Newcrest Mining may face second class action

Newcrest Mining may have to defend itself against two shareholder class actions after law firm Slater & Gordon confirmed it was investigating the company’s record on disclosure, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Meanwhile, equity analysts at a range of firms are reporting a new mood of extreme caution among investor relations staffers.

The fallout from the Newcrest scandal has sparked a surveillance program by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission regarding how companies discuss their performance with the market.

Newcrest last month announced a shift in strategy to lower-cost production together with the need to take up to $6 billion in write-downs.