Film 100

Business is booming for Switzerland’s gold smelters

The credit crunch has pushed precious metals prices to a historic high, leading families to sell old jewellery to be melted down into bullion

Xstrata boss mines £14m seam of share options

Mick Davis converts thousands of options in space of month, benefiting from near-trebling in stock price since January

Total pleads guilty to Buncefield fire charges

World's fifth largest oil company admits health and safety breaches that caused the UK's biggest explosion in peacetime

China extends detention for Rio worker

Stern Hu, the Rio Tinto executive accused of industrial espionage, will stay in jail as investigators build case

RBS dismisses concerns over chairman’s role at miner

Calls from investors to cut Sir Philip Hampton’s salary after his new directorship at Anglo-American are ruled out

Climate inaction 'may cost $500bn a year'

The IEA warns that the annual cost would result from a steady build-up of additional concentrations of greenhouse gases

Gas glut will weaken ‘Russian grip on Europe’

The International Energy Agency says that the surplus in global supplies may hit 200 billion cubic metres a year by 2015

Imperial crowns Cooper as newest member of FTSE’s elite women’s club

Alison Cooper, who takes over the hot seat at the tobacco group in May, will go for sales rather than acquisitions

Macau casinos face nightmare of water rationing

A cut in the water supply - essential for maintaining luxury for gambling and hotel operators - may be just days away

Spain’s wind turbines supply half its power

The investment in renewable energy is paying off as wind energy hits a high of 53 per cent of the country’s power supply

Reliance considers bid for LyondellBasell

The Indian conglomerate is mulling over making an offer for the US arm of the bankrupt petrochemicals group

RBS chairman joins Anglo American board

Sir Philip Hampton becomes a non-executive at the mining group in an effort to 'refresh' the company's board

Veterans to boycott Shell after ban on poppy sales

The oil giant is facing a boycott by veterans after it banned poppy appeal collections on its petrol stations's forecourts

Centrica is latest firm to blow investment into Scottish windpower

Centrica is the latest company to invest more in Scotland’s elemental forces

Sharewatch: Bowleven

Oil explorer gets ready for a busy year as losses drop