The City isn’t known for penny-pinching, but news that a mining company was taking control of spending, slashing bosses’ pay and culling the number of executives sent it to the top of the mid-tier index.

Diamonds are forever for mining giant Rio Tinto, which today scrapped plans to sell or float its  $2 billion (£1.3 billion)  precious stones division.

BHP Billiton became the third of the FTSE 100 global mining giants to change its chief executive in as many months as the industry braces itself for a long period of sluggish resources prices.

There is a race to the bottom when it comes to global currencies. Economies facing stagnation are looking to weaken their currencies to boost exports. But when every man and his dog are at it too, then the game plan can fall apart.

Outlook As ever in life, Peppa Pig is the best barometer of cultural advancement. Today, the co-owners of the bossy animated porcus, Entertainment One, completed its $228m (£142m) purchase of Alliance Films, a Canadian distributor of flicks ranging from quip-laden classic Pulp Fiction to the dreadful Twilight series.

US retail sales up 0.3% after storm

China yesterday stepped up its worldwide hunt for gas to keep its 1.3 billion population warm.

Investment View: Cynthia Carroll didn't do such a bad job in an extremely difficult situation

Felipe Ustate, a community leader in the north of Colombia, will use BHP Billiton's AGM today to call on non-executive director Baroness Shriti Vadera for redress over the giant El Cerrojon open-cut coal mine that he says has forced many people off their land.

Problems at its huge copper mine in Chile have provided a fresh headache for the mining giant Xstrata, which is in the throes of a $32bn (£20bn) takeover by the commodities trading giant Glencore.

Cnooc has agreed to buy the Canadian oil producer Nexen for $15.1bn (£9.7bn), in a deal that could make the Chinese oil giant the operator of the giant Buzzard field in the North Sea.

Cnooc has agreed to buy the Canadian oil producer Nexen for $15.1bn (£9.7bn), in a deal that would make the Chinese oil giant the operator of Buzzard, the North Sea's largest field, and give it a key role in setting the benchmark Brent oil price.

Persistent fears that South Africa could order a forced nationalisation of its huge mining industry are jeopardising vast amounts of potential investment in the country, the ratings agencies Fitch and Standard & Poor's have separately warned.