Spectre Of Chinese Dragon Haunts Bhp's Bid For Rio

SPECULATION that China could spoil BHP Billiton's dream of owning Rio Tinto by ordering investment funds and steel makers to buy a blocking share in Rio surfaced as an issue at BHP's annual meeting in Adelaide.

A Walk In The Dark Forest - On The Upper North Shore

I LIVE on the upper North Shore and, on the whole, enjoy living in such a pleasant and leafy place. There is just one area where the leaves really get up my nose: when they are blocking the footpath. Actually, they don't just get up my nose. They get in my hair and in my eyes and can turn my daily walk into a battle with plant life from which I don't always emerge unscathed.