Coal news and updates

The Drilldown: Cheap oil dragging down hiring plans, says BoC

The Bank of Canada on Monday brought out its spring 2015 business outlook survey, revealing the extent of the damage done by the oil price crash, the Globe and Mail reports.

“Lower oil prices continue to dampen the overall sales outlook of firms, weighing on investment and hiring intentions,” the bank says in the survey.

“However, a majority of businesses are benefiting from the strong economic outlook in the United States and the boost in competitiveness from the  weaker Canadian dollar.”

International

The standoff at Eldorado Gold Corp.’s mine in northern Greece escalated this past weekend, when almost 3,000 people — more than two-thirds of them supporting the mine — clashed in the site’s first violent demonstration. Police didn’t arrest any of the demonstrators, the Associated Press reports.

As of Sunday afternoon, three workers were still unaccounted for after a fire last week on a Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The company and the navy are searching for the workers.

Meanwhile, Pemex is preparing to return to 80 per cent of its “pre-fire production” this week, the Associated Press reports.

Source: iPolitics