Abbott government resists US moves against coal power

The Abbott government has again put itself on a collision course with US President Barack Obama, this time over government funding for coal-fired power plants, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

After adopting a contrary position to the US on the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, about which a final decision is expected within days, the Abbott government has been leading international resistance to White House moves to strip back subsidies for fossil fuels.

ACCC guns for Andrew Forrest over call for iron ore ‘cartel’

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is investigating a call by Andrew Forrest for iron ore producers to drive up the price by capping production, a practice federal Treasurer Joe Hockey said would be akin to cartel behaviour, according to the Australian Financial Review.

ACCC chairman Rod Sims said he was taken aback by the comments by such a senior business figure as Forrest, the founder of the Fortescue Metals Group, which were made during a business dinner in Shanghai on Tuesday.

Ivanhoe's ‘toxic Bob’ Friedland turns green

Ivanhoe Mines chairman Robert Friedland, once known as “toxic Bob” for his environmental track record, has discovered the green revolution, according to the Australian Financial Review.

“It's terrible that the people of Hong Kong have to breathe the dirty air that comes across from Guangzhou,” he told delegates at the annual Mines and Money Conference in Hong Kong.

Within this, the bigger story for Friedland is China's “war on pollution” and what it will do for copper, platinum and zinc prices.