[News in Brief]

△ Iran, US take their nuclear cases to UN stage

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad brings his nuclear case to New York on Monday, turning a U.N. treaty conference into a stage for Tehran's long-running showdown with the Western powers over its uranium enrichment program.

The only head of state participating, Ahmadinejad was one of Monday's scheduled kickoff speakers for the monthlong session, to review the workings of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).

Departing Tehran on Sunday, the Iranian leader made clear he would assail U.S.-led efforts to impose a new round of U.N. sanctions on his country for refusing to stop its enrichment program, which Washington and others contend is meant to produce the nuclear fuel for bombs in violation of Iran's NPT obligations.

"Under the pretext of prevention of nuclear weapons proliferation, they impose heavy pressures on independent countries," Ahmadinejad complained to reporters.

He is also expected to counter with a denunciation of the United States and other nuclear-armed nations for their slow movement toward disarmament. "The atomic bomb has become a tool for bullying, domination and expansionism," he said Sunday.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, following Ahmadinejad to the U.N. stage later Monday, suggested over the weekend he was coming to New York "to divert attention and confuse the issue."

"We're not going to permit Iran to try to change the story from their failure to comply" with the NPT, she said on Sunday's "Meet the Press" on NBC.

△ Mining shares tumble on Australian tax plan

Shares of mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto tumbled Monday after the Australian government proposed a new 40 percent tax on the booming profits of resource companies.

The big miners' losses dragged the Australian market down by about 1 percent in morning trade after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced Sunday that the tax would be introduced in 2012 and raise an additional 9 billion Australian dollars ($8.3 billion) per year.

The new tax targets miners that have made bumper profits as burgeoning demand from manufacturers in China and India pushed up the price of iron ore and other commodities.

The mining industry has warned that such a tax would stall investment or shift it to other countries.

Shares in BHP Billiton, the world's biggest miner, fell 3.7 percent in early trading while Anglo-Australian rival Rio Tinto shed 5.6 percent.

"The resources stocks are really getting carved up this morning given the land grab by the federal government," said Austock Securities stockbroker Michael Heffernan.

After the tax announcement, BHP Billiton said the measure would raise the total effective tax rate on the company's profits from 43 percent to 57 percent.

"These proposals seriously threaten Australia's competitiveness, jeopardize future investments and will adversely impact on the future wealth and standard of living of all Australians," BHP Billiton chief executive Marius Kloppers said in a statement.

BHP Billiton posted profits of $6.14 billion for the six months ending Dec. 31, more than double the result of a year earlier.

Rio Tinto's Australian managing director David Peever said the new tax would make the Australian mining industry the highest taxed in the world and less competitive.

Rio Tinto reported profits of $4.9 billion for 2009, up 33 percent over the previous year.

Peever said the strength of the mining sector had kept Australia out of recession at the height of the global financial crisis.

△ Oil Hovers at $86 as Traders Eye Gulf Grude Spill

Oil prices hovered near $86 a barrel Monday in Asia as traders eyed whether a massive crude spill in the Gulf of Mexico would slow imports to the U.S.

Benchmark crude for June delivery was down 9 cents to $86.06 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 98 cents to settle at $86.15 on Friday.

Some analysts expect the 30-mile (48-kilometer) oil slick caused by as much as 210,000 gallons (795,000 liters) of crude gushing into the Gulf each day could undermine imports to key Louisiana terminals, helping to lower crude inventories and boost prices.

U.S. authorities have said imports have not yet been affected.

"The potential disruption of oil tanker traffic in the Gulf of Mexico is already having an impact on oil prices." Goldman Sachs said in a report. "Traffic of oil service boats and oil tankers through the Gulf will likely be slowed."

Oil is near an 18-month high of $87, last touched in early April.

Investors are also mulling a recent jump of U.S. crude supplies, a sign demand hasn't rebounded along with the overall economic recovery.

"The past two weeks have brought weak U.S. oil inventory data that puts into question the much stronger macroeconomic data," Goldman said.

Goldman said it expects prices to rise to $94.50 a barrel in three months and to $99 a year from now.

In other Nymex trading in May contracts, heating oil fell 0.27 cent to $2.312 a gallon, and gasoline slipped 0.57 cent to $2.3937 a gallon. Natural gas jumped 2.0 cents to $3.940 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude was down 8 cents at $87.36 on the ICE futures exchange.