The committee anticipates a moderation in economic activity and said, ""On balance, the Board''s assessment continued to be that, on current policy settings, the necessary moderation in demand growth was likely to occur.

They concluded that it was therefore appropriate to maintain the current setting of monetary policy for the time being.

The decision helped boost the performance of financial stocks. ANZ added 1.8%, National Australia Bank gained 1.5%, Westpac was up 0.3% and Commonwealth Bank shed 1.3%.

Orica approves $586 million investment in Indonesia

Explosives, chemicals and paint maker, Orica Limited today indicated that it has approved the establishment of a 300,000 tons per annum ammonium nitrate plant in Bontang, East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

The company said in a statement the estimated capital cost of the investment was likely to be approximately $585.85 million. ""The establishment of the plant complements Orica''s existing strong market position as well as enabling Orica to participate in, and support the further growth of, the Indonesian mining industry,"" Orica said.

Orica would undertake the project through its joint venture company, PT Kaltim Nitrate Indonesia. A spokesman for the company said it had already done much of the pre-engineering work.

Orica share rose 0.7%.

Macarthur Coal –ArcelorMittal talks continuing

The supplier of more than a third of the world''s pulverised coal, Macarthur Coal today advised that the discussions with steel maker, ArcelorMittal were continuing. ArcelorMittal recently acquired a 14.9% stake in the company.

ArcelorMittal last month followed up the acquisition when it approached Macarthur in respect of another potential transaction. Macarthur Coal was responding to an article in today''s ''Street Talk'' in the Australian Financial Review that it said incorrectly states that CITIC holds 19.9% stake in Macarthur Coal.

""The correct percentage holding of CITIC is 17.7%. The board continues to advise shareholders that they should have no regard to media speculation or any other uninformed comment,"" the company said.

Macarthur shares rose 3%.

CBH to engage in major restructuring

Australian zinc miner CBH Resources Ltd said on Tuesday it is undertaking major corporate and operational restructuring to insulate the company against the recent decline in metals prices.
The company said the initiatives included the completion of a major capital investment program at Endeavor and Rasp mines in New South Wales and significant workforce reductions.

""The restructuring program is unrelated to the proposed merger with Perilya Limited and we expect to update shareholders shortly on progress with the merger arrangements,"" the company said.


The company said extensive capital works program undertaken at Endeavor over the past 12 months were nearing completion and that over $90 million had been spent on projects during 2007/08.

The company also announced that it would be offloading 220 employees, or 37% of the workforce, at is Endeavor lode in eastern Australia where it has spent more than $90 million on improvements.

Production at Endeavour is expected to increase in the next year to 1.3 million tonnes from 1.05 million this year, the company said. CBH shares rose 12% and Perilya gained 7.7%.

Qantas announces additional capacity and network changes