I'd already been looking forward to adding a slice of cheesecake to my next "Kaffeeklatsch" with my two German-speaking friends, but yesterday's sudden drop in BHP's share price may want me to cut back on this largesse, depending on what happens today.
After China ordered its steelmakers and major traders to halt new purchases of iron ore from BHP, its share price fell off a cliff. Iron ore is the backbone of Australia’s export economy, and shares in BHP are the backbone of my share portfolio, so the hole it left after yesterday's drop is a lot bigger than the price of a piece of cheesecake.
Of course, as the world's biggest miner, BHP isn't just about iron ore but also about copper, silver, zinc, molybdenum, uranium and gold, metallurgical coal and energy coal. One of its biggest and best acquisitions was its take-over in 2005 of Western Mining Corporation and the Olympic Dam mine. Maybe, instead of following the gyrations of the market today, I read David Upton's book again just to remind me of it.
P.S. It's just a few minutes after ten o'clock and the market has opened - and, yes, BHP's share price is up again by 55 cents. Phew!
