BHP Billiton has reported lower quarterly production figures of nickel, copper, coal and manganese after maintenance shutdowns at several mines, smelters and refineries.
BHP rival Rio Tinto also disclosed last week its iron ore production had fallen in the September quarter in part because its infrastructure in West
Australia's Pilbara region was overstretched. We are seeing the inevitable strain that a commodity boom is having on major miners, who have been operating at 100 per cent capacity to meet demand.
The longer the boom continues, the more production breakdowns are likely. However, if you buy into the long-term story for commodities, and the fact that Chinese demand still has years to run, BHP remains a hot commodity stock. The main worry for BHP and other commodity stocks is that they are running way ahead of the long-term average performance and an eventual adjustment could be radical.
Investment company Hellaby Holdings is selling Levana Textiles to The Merino Company Ltd, a subsidiary of the privately owned Melbourne company, The Merino Company.
Levana Textiles is one of many subsidiaries owned by Hellaby and is based in Levin, manufacturing fabrics for garment-makers in Australasia and other markets. Hellaby's assets include industrial and retail businesses here.
The company plunged to a $9.8 million loss last year and then started looking at selling vulnerable parts of the business.
It had no success selling its retail interest but it seems to be sticking with its industrial businesses.
It has yet to decide what to do with its worst acquisition ever, The BBQ Factory.
However, the share has now fallen so far some would consider it a value investment that could recover under new management. Risks remain high though.
