As Miners Soar, Dollar Slides

From Forbes.com:

As trapped Chilean miners were rising one by one to safety in a dramatic rescue attempt on Wednesday, shares of large mining companies were also on the ascent in London. But while people around the world marvelled at the celebrations that greeted the miners in South America, investors in Europe picked up the likes of Xstrata and Fresnillo for the more sobering reasons of strong production figures, higher commodity prices and (indirectly) actions by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The Mexican miner Fresnillo was up by 3.2% or 40 pence to £12.81 in early afternoon trading after it reported a record output of silver and gold in the third quarter and said it was on track to meet its production targets.

Xstrata gained 3.9% to trade at £12.93 while Anglo American 3.6% to £28.35. Xstrata said it planned to restart its Falcondo ferro-nickel facility in the Dominican Republic, and was targeting 50% of capacity by March 2011.

Gold futures were higher, with spot gold trading hands at $1,358 per troy ounce, up $7.80 from its close on Tuesday in New York, amid rising expectations that the Federal Reserve would restart its quantitative easing program to boost the American economy.

The dollar fell against the euro, with the European single currency buying $1.396, up from $1.393 late Tuesday in New York. The dollar has weakened in response to expectations of a bigger Fed balance sheet, which has in turn made commodities like gold and oil more attractive.

House Votes for Faster Tax Breaks for Chile Gifts

The House of Representatives passed a bill today that would allow taxpayers to deduct Chile relief donations made by April 15th on their tax returns. The non-controversial bill, which should easily sail through the Senate, would also extend the deadline for Haiti donations to April 15th. Check out the following article on the new development courtesy of the Associated Press.

Under current law, donors would have to wait until next year, when they file their 2010 returns, to claim the deductions. The House bill would allow donations made by April 15 to be deducted on 2009 returns.

The House passed the bill Wednesday on a voice vote, with no opposition. It now goes to the Senate. Congress passed a similar bill for donations to Haiti quake victims made before the end of February. The bill would extend the deadline for Haiti donations until April 15 as well.

The House has passed a bill that would allow taxpayers to write off charitable donations to Chile earthquake relief efforts when they file their 2009 taxes this spring.

Under current law, donors would have to wait until next year, when they file their 2010 returns, to claim the deductions. The House bill would allow donations made by April 15 to be deducted on 2009 returns.

Slater To Retire From Surfing?

American surfing star Kelly Slater is rumored to be retiring from surfing after a poor performance in the Rip Curl Pro Search event in Arica, Chile. Slater holds the record as both the youngest and oldest world champion and won his first world title back in 1992. He’s won a record eight world titles in his career but lost to Dean Morrison during the fourth round on Tuesday. According to reports, Slater was extremely disappointed about the loss and booked himself on the next flight out of Chile to return the United States. For more information check out TheAge.