The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has cut its benchmark rate 25 basis points to 7%. This has sent the Aussie dollar and local stocks tumbling.

Chuck Butler says only one more rate cut is likely this year. Charles Delvalle, meanwhile, expects dividends on Austrialian companies BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) to fall as the Aussie dollar weakens against the greenback.

Al Robinson at The Daily Reckoning Australia says the RBA is caught between fighting higher prices and a stagnating economy. But he says local mining stocks still a good bet…

We are seeing mob behavior in the financial markets, says Al Robinson in The Daily Reckoning Australia. The country’s main stock exchange, the ASX, is following the Dow Jones Index on its various ups and (more frequent) downs this year.

The June Quarterly Producer Price Index is in. Producer inflation was lower than expected. That doesn’t mean prices have fallen, but that they grew at a slower rate. So here’s three cheers for making stuff.

Five energy companies made year-highs on your Money Morning sidebar today. We realised with a start that they’re all coal companies. Yep. They all have a little coal property to call their own. The new Australian dream, perhaps.

Coal Delays at Dalrymple Lead to a Longer Boom There’s nothing better than baring your icy feet to the warm jet of a fan-powered heater. So we were delighted when our boss walked in this morning with a spare fan-powered heater.

Now, here’s something a little different. The high oil price is driving up the price of shares mineral sands companies.

Riding a bicycle in Melbourne’s autumn is like playing with fire, reader. The weather changes a lot quicker than we can ride.

Asset-based investments now dominate the ASX in market value. The mining sector is worth $406 billion in market cap. Financials have fallen to $403 billion. The king is dead. Long live the king.

Yesterday’s big bid by British Gas for Origin Energy puts coal seam methane (firmly in the spotlight). Recently we published a map showing Queensland’s coal properties, including the location of coal seam methane projects in the Surat Basin.