London—Rio Tinto has rejected a reported $147 billion buyout offer from larger rival BHP Billiton, which made its second offer for the company.

Tel Aviv, Israel—Diamond industry lender ABN Amro Holding NV has been acquired by Fortis, but the company isn't getting out of the jewelry business.

Tel Aviv, Israel—De Beers Group Managing Director Gareth Penny said on Monday that retailers' poor store environments, particularly among major U.S. chains, are one of the main problems confronting the diamond industry today.

Ramat Gan, Israel—Diamond Trading Co. sightholder the Dalumi Group is readying itself to expand its distribution to the Indian and Russian markets, and it has also opened an office in Los Angeles to better serve the U.S. market.

Tel Aviv, Israel—There's no shortage of rough diamonds and plenty of polished.

Johannesburg, South Africa—The De Beers Group reported today that full-year sales dropped 3 percent in 2007, from $7.030 billion in 2006 to 6.836 billion, crediting most of the loss to a lower availability of goods from Russia.

New York—January proved to be as tough a month for the Rapaport Certified Diamond Auction as the holiday season was for the majority of retailers.

Hong Kong—Mining company BHP Billiton upped the stakes on Wednesday in its bid to buy Australian mining company Rio Tinto, various news services reported.

New York—The next Rapaport Certified Diamond Auction, the latest in a series launched by Rapaport Chairman Martin Rapaport, will take place on Thursday.

Johannesburg, South Africa—De Beers has resumed production at two of its six mines shut down by a power shortage in South Africa last week.