BHP Billiton, the Anglo-Australian mining group, yesterday reported better-than-expected half-year results but flagged concerns about its growth prospects as governments around the world looked to unwind stimulus measures.Marius Kloppers , chief executive, said many economies, notably the US, were still dependant on government stimulus.He said such measures had helped drive recovery but had not addressed structural issues such as weak labour markets and excess production capacity in developed economies."A further variable will be the impact of any measures to control loan growth in China ," he said.He added that in the short term Beijing was focused on containment of asset inflation."We remain cautious about the speed and strength of the global economic recovery across the developed world."But longer term prospects were "robust" on the back of growth in China and India, Mr Kloppers said.
