Mining boom will save economy, say experts
Raymond Teo (July 9th, 2008) Writes:
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THE mining boom will help keep Australia’s economy from falling into a hole until at least 2013, a report suggests.
Economic forecaster BIS Shrapnel said record levels of mining investment together with a ramp-up in production will insulate the economy from recession for the next five years - even with commodity prices tipped to fall.
“We didn’t really do enough investment, with the benefit of hindsight, through the 1990s to gear ourselves up for maintaining strong growth in mineral output and what we’re trying to do now is catch up,” said Adrian Hart, senior manager of BIS Shrapnel’s mining unit.
“The next five years will all be about increasing production to meet demand from China and other emerging economies . . . and once that production comes on stream that will drive weaker prices for a lot of commodities.”
The
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Confidence levels among the top end of Japanese business is at a four year low as companies forecast lower earnings for the first time in seven years.
At the same time big companies say they will lift capital expenditure 2.4% over the coming financial year (which ends March 31, 2009 in Japan), compared to a forecast three months ago of a decline.
But that was about the only crumb of comfort from the latest quarterly Tankan survey of manufacturer sentiment from the Bank of Japan yesterday.
As with industrial production figures, the Tankan survey is considered to be perhaps the best guide to Japanese business confidence and conditions because of the way manufacturing still dominates the economy, unlike the US and Europe where services are now the main driving sector.
That’s why the 5 points slide in sentiment in June from 11 in March, (the third quarterly decline in a ... 
