LME copper drifts, awaits US data

Base metals drifted in early business in Europe on Friday, with the market awaiting key data from the United States for clues about future economic growth.

Benchmark three-month copper futures at the London Metal Exchange were quoted at $6,177/6,185 per tonne at 1144 GMT, down $98 from Thursday's close.

Mining shares fell more steeply than the FTSE index of 100 shares.
The world's biggest mining company BHP Billiton was down 0.5 percent and Chilean copper miner Antofagasta was down almost 2 percent by late morning in London.

Read more at Reuters South Africa

Two of SA among 200 richest

Two families in South Africa made it in the top 200 of Forbes magazine's list of richest people in the world.

According to Forbes magazine's 2007 rankings of the world's richest people, the 61-year-old Nicky Oppenheimer and his family clinched the 158th spot with a net worth of $5bn (R36.9bn), while Johann Rupert, 56, and his family claimed spot 194. They are worth $4.3bn (R31.7bn).

Read more at FIN24.co.za

SA sued over black mining law

The Italian owners of two granite firms are suing South Africa for €266m, arguing that laws which force firms to sell stakes to black investors violated international investment treaties, the investors' lawyer said on Friday.

The act marks the first legal action alleging that South Africa's mining charter, which seeks to boost involvement of blacks in a sector that excluded them during apartheid, amounts to expropriation.

Read more at FIN24.co.za

Deadline for tax returns moves

Income tax returns for 2007 will be issued later than usual this year, the SA Revenue Service (SARS) said on Friday.

"Taxpayers are encouraged to record accurate odometer readings if they are in receipt of a motor vehicle allowance and to retain such information for the submission of their returns later this year," SARS said in a statement.

Read at FIN24.co.za