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June 05, 2015 GOLD (MSM)

For risk-wary gold miners, small is beautiful

[Reuters] – Bigger isn’t better for the world’s gold miners, who are increasingly making “bite-sized” developments that carry less risk of budget disasters and fewer of the political and environmental disputes that have derailed mega-mines in recent years. Newmont Mining is a prime example of how companies are responding to bleak industry conditions by building mines on a smaller scale than in the past, with the price of gold down

June 05, 2015 REAL ESTATE

Money laundering investigation stymied by China, Italy says

FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — As Italy’s economy was heading off a cliff, police couldn’t help but notice that the country’s Chinese communities were booming. Luxury cars rolled past Chinese betting parlors and garment factories. Chinese immigrants were buying up Italian coffee bars and real estate. Their prosperity, however, was not reflected in local tax records.

June 04, 2015 ENERGY (MSM)

Fracking not a 'widespread risk' to drinking water: U.S. EPA

By Valerie Volcovici and Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Fracking for shale oil and gas has not led to widespread pollution of drinking water, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency draft report said on Thursday, although it warned some drilling activities could potentially cause health risks. The study, requested by Congress and five years in the making, said fracking could contaminate drinking water under certain conditions, such as when fluids used