The lack of adequately skilled staff is slowing production at Whitehaven Coal, while also boosting costs as it has been forced to turn to external specialists to help close the gap.

The NSW coal producer is expanding production at its Narrabri mine, in the state’s north west, but work is being hampered by a lack of skilled staff, which is delaying progress.

The stage one development is for up to 2.5 million tonnes of coal, which will rise to 6 million tonnes a year when the present expansion is concluded.

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”Weekly development advance continues to be hampered by the lack of availability of skilled underground miners,” it said in its December production report to the ASX today.

”This is preventing full utilisation of the four continuous miner units which are available and has resulted in a shortfall of approximately 509 metres against first half year plan to December, 2011,” it said.

An additional external contractor, SDB-Delta, has brought in experienced staff to boost development work at the mine, while internal employees are being trained for longwall mining equipment operation.

”If performance continues at the current rate, longwall commissioning is expected in mid to late April,” it said.

December quarter saleable coal production rose 2 per cent year on year to 1.1 million tonnes, but with total coal sales declining 22 per cent to 1.4 million tonnes.

Earnings continue to be hampered as well by the need to purchase coal to meet contractual commitments, although at a lower rate than previously as output levels improve, it said, with a further 330,000 tonnes of legacy contracts due to be delivered in the March quarter.

March quarter coking coal prices are expected to run at $US184 a tonne, up from around $US179 in the December quarter.

Steaming coal delivered into the Japan market for the 12 months to March 2012 have been fixed at $US124 a tonne, it said, which is higher than the ex-Newcastle spot market price of $US117 a tonne.

The Associated Press Published Tuesday, January 24, 2012 Updated Tuesday, January 24, 2012   |    |    |     |   tool goes here

Treasury prices edged up from their lowest levels this year Tuesday as uncertainty about a deal to reduce Greece’s debt drew money into safer investments.

European leaders are locked in negotiations with owners of debt issued by Greece. They want the bondholders to write off half of Greece’s debt load. The two sides disagree about how much interest the new Greek bonds would carry.

Traders sold other European government bonds Tuesday, fearing that a messy default by Greece would spark financial panic. French and Italian bond yields rose.

Traders bought dollars and ultra-safe Treasurys. The yield on th

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Yahoo’s latest financial results show the Internet company is still losing ground in the battle for online advertising.

The fourth-quarter breakdown announced Tuesday is the latest in a succession of ho-hum performances.

The company earned $296 million, or 24 cents per share, in the October-to-December period. That is down 5 percent from $312 million, or 24 cents per share, a year earlier. The earnings matched analysts’ estimates.

Fourth-quarter revenue dropped 13 percent from the previous year to $1.32 billion.

After subtracting commissions, Yahoo’s revenue totaled $1.17 billion. That was $20 million below analyst projections.

It’s the 13th straight quarter that Yahoo’s net revenue has declined from the prior year.

Yahoo Inc. recently hired former PayPal executive Scott Thompson as CEO in its latest attempt at a turnaround.

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POCATELLO, Idaho — Eastern Idaho leaders say they’re still working to find a new purpose for the J.R. Simplot potato processing plant in Aberdeen.

The Simplot company announced last fall that it would close the plant in 2014, eliminating about 290 jobs.

Former Pocatello Mayor Roger Chase told the Idaho State Journal that the importance of the plant to the town of less than 2,000 people can’t be overstated.

Chase is one of several working on the issue. He says the first step is for workers to keep doing a good job at the plant in the hopes that Simplot will decide to keep the business open. Officials are also talking with Idaho State University to see if there are classes they can bring to Aberdeen to teach new job skills.

  Bank of Canada Goveror Mark Carney.

Economists will be paying close attention to the Bank of Canada’s interest rate announcement Tuesday, but not because they’re looking for a rate hike.

The main focal point will be changes to the bank’s growth and inflation outlook, as well as the balance of risks. Below we outline three things economists will be looking for during the bank’s announcement.

Dovish or hawkish?

As far as the overnight lending rate, which is currently at 1%, the likelihood of a surprise hike (or cut) on Tuesday is nearly nil, said Avery Shenfeld, chief economist with CIBC Economics.

But Tuesday’s announcement will likely bring a change of tone, he added.

“Given developments since the prior issue, Governor Carney’s team has no choice but to alter its message and, in the process, sound just a shade less dovish,” Mr. Shenfeld said.

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