bhp is a business.en our portfolio, we are positioned for all worlds including heightened uncertain tea. we have commodities not dependent on the individual the maddox so broad-based in terms of demand by the markets they sell into as well as end-use and within those, we have assets that sit at the low end of the cost curve which gives us resilient margins, 10 percentage went ahead of the competition when it comes to average margins. that places us very well for a period of heightened uncertainty. given growth options, if the global economy stays on track and continues to grow, the world will need more minerals bhp produces and we are at the forefront to meet the demand. tom: that was bhp's ceo speaking to haidi stroud-watts. iron ore gating -- gaining after he talked about the chinese housing markets. martin has his finger on the pulse of commodities. what stood out from what mike henry said in terms of demand around iron ore? he was bullish on copper and seeing green roots in the housing market in chi

the cfpb, bhp's new leadership, could choose to abandon the legal fight and scrap the regulation altogetherustry anticipates a rollback of aggressive consumer protection policies and a more industry friendly approach. notably, chopra was a strong advocate for student loan reform efforts that have been met with fierce republican opposition senator elizabeth warren, who was instrumental in creating the cfpb in 2011, responded to chopra's firing, saying in part, quote, president trump campaigned on capping credit card interest rates at 10% and lowering costs for americans. he needs a strong cfpb and a strong cfpb director to do that. but if president trump and republicans decide to cower to wall street billionaires and destroy the agency, they will have a fight on their hands, end quote. and as you know from last week, we have committed on this show to continuously reporting on the attack on consumer protections in america. watch this space. coming up after the break, today's meeting of the velshi banned book club, we're turning we're featuring the award winning and beloved children's classic

loss of $3.1 billion as it pushes ahead with its restructuring plan following a takeover battle with bhpar. the company took on a $3.8 billion impairment charge, mostly related to its struggling diamond unit, debeers. speaking earlier to cnbc, ceo duncan weinblatt said the diamond industry is being impacted by slowing chinese demand. >> diamonds really. >> had a very difficult year. >> last year as a result. >> of. >> diamond markets. >> two big. >> things. >> sort of. >> you know, playing out quite heavily there. >> demand from china. >> really, really muted for luxury goods. >> and diamonds. >> in particular. >> and a. >> significant early higher overhang of stock in the midstream. that impacted. >> both price and. >> sales of diamonds. during the course of last year. >> but i reckon. >> that that you know, given where we are now. >> some of the small. >> green shoots that we're seeing, particularly in the us and, and in india for diamonds that that. hopefully we'll start to see some of that stock in the midstream move during. >> the course of this. year and some real pickup. >> in in

you want a bunch of copper and iron mines like bhp. that's the definition of cyclical. these companies are all hostage to the vicissitudes of the economy. when the economy heats up, they earn a lot more money, and we're willing to pay more for those earnings. and when the economy slows down or shifts into a recession mode, they earn a lot less money and investors pay less for their shares. i always say the cyclicals are boom and bust. names are secular growth company. on the other hand, is one where the earnings keep coming regardless of the economy's overall health. think anything you eat, drink, brush your teeth with or use as medication. so you've got consumer staples like procter and gamble. of course, the foods companies like general mills. the drug stocks like pfizer or merck or eli lilly. these are the classic recession proof names that you want to buy. when the economy slows down, investors flock to the companies that can generate safe, consistent earnings. unless the glp one drugs actually really take over the world because you don't stop eating food or brushin