S.Africa's c.bank casts doubt on maize for ethanol

(Reuters) - South Africa's central bank chief Tito Mboweni has questioned the wisdom of using maize as a source for ethanol, saying global trends have shown this would push up prices of the staple food.

"It seems that we in South Africa think that we are going to produce ethanol from maize," Mboweni said at a dinner.


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ICI rejects improved $16 bln Akzo bid, talks continue

(Reuters) - ICI, the maker of Dulux paints, said on Monday that the two sides were still in talks after it rejected a 650 pence a share cash proposal from Akzo but it had not opened its books to the world's largest maker of industrial coatings.




Akzo, the maker of Crown paints, said it had teamed up with German consumer products group Henkel over its proposed bid, but there was no certainty it would make a better offer. Henkel would take on ICI's adhesives and electronics materials business if a deal went through, Akzo said.


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Blackstone shares drop as much as 7 percent

(Reuters) - Its shares were down another 7 percent on Thursday, before staging a late-day rally, ending slightly higher. The firm's stock fell 4.8 percent on Friday afternoon to $24.44.



Blackstone raised more than $4 billion through its IPO, most of which went to paying out top partners.


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Aquarius contractor fires 3,000 striking workers

(Reuters) - More than 3,000 striking workers at two South African mines owned by platinum miner Aquarius Platinum have been dismissed, the firm said on Thursday.

The strike stemmed from demands for a bonus made by employees and followed the dismissal of 108 load-haul dumper operators in May. The rest of the contractor workforce went on a sympathy strike.


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