By John Richardson
POLITICIANS everywhere know that their chances of staying in office depend on how many jobs they can at the very least prevent from disappearing down the economic plughole.
Ideally, they also want to be able to lay …
Tag Archives | EU
Europe’s Dinosaur Destiny
By John Richardson
DINOSAURS became extinct, scientists think, because of an event beyond their control – either an asteroid colliding with the earth, volcanic activity, an ice age, disease or gradual climate change.
With all due respect to the former …
Germany’s Long-term Economic Challenges
Source of graph: Eurostat
By John Richardson
AS delegates gather for this year’s European Petrochemical Association (EPCA) meeting in Berlin, which takes place on 5-9 October, it might be tempting to believe that Europe has turned the corner.
Supporting …
Europe’s Economic “Recovery”
By John Richardson
EUROZONE GDP expanded 0.3% in the second quarter of this year and it will probably also have expanded in Q3. As a result, if you view the end of a recession as two consecutive quarters of …
China And The New IPCC Report
By John Richardson
THE blog isn’t a scientist and it has also often discussed the dangers of another consensus view: That the global economy will return to the Old Normal.
Nevertheless, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has now …
Listen To The Iconoclasts
By John Richardson
Does your company employ an independent economist who forms her or his own view of where China is heading, or does it instead just accept the conventional wisdom dished up by the big institutions, such as the …
Dalian Reflects China-EU Risks
By John Richardson
AT first glance it might seem strange that the Dalian Commodity Exchange’s linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) futures contract has fluctuated so dramatically on news emanating from the Eurozone.
The May 2012 contract – the one most actively traded …
SEA Chemicals Need To Learn From The Past
By John Richardson
THE whinging is getting almost unbearable in Southeast Asia over the Asean-China Free-Trade Agreement (ACFTA).
The deal was under discussion for EIGHT years and yet chemicals and polymer producers and customers seem to have left it until …
Unravelling China’s polyester market
By Malini Hariharan (Malini is now joint blogger for Asian Chemical Connections)
China’s immense appetite this year for all petrochemicals has been puzzling many of us. This blog has been regularly asking questions and some answeres for the polyester and …
A fight to the finish
By Malini Hariharan (Malini is now joint blogger for Asian Chemical Connections)
The Indian government has announced 17 November as the date for a public hearing to discuss the provisional anti dumping duties that it had imposed in June on …