Rio Tinto earnings slump to 12-year low, warns conditions still tough

By Sonali Paul MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Global miner Rio Tinto reported a 47 percent slump in first-half profit to its weakest in 12 years on Wednesday, but surprised the market with a higher-than-expected dividend while flagging that conditions remain difficult. New Chief Executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques said he was focused on shoring up the company by cutting costs further and did not expect help from commodities markets, which had been pumped up in the second quarter by easy credit in Chi