This blog expresses my opinions and not those of ICIS By John Ricuardson THE UNREST in Hong Kong worsened over the weekend. Protestors were pepper-sprayed, rubber bullets were used and travellers on the Hong Kong underground were filmed being beaten by the police. Petrol bombs were thrown by demonstrators. This morning Hong Kong’s airport was […]
Asian Chemical Connections
China’s Labour Complications
Source: Wang Feng, director of the Brookings-Tsinghua Center for Public Policy in Beijing, from an article published in the China Economic Quarterly. By John Richardson ONE of the explanations for China’s disappointing petrochemicals demand growth during 2012 is that even where export-focused factories in southern and eastern China can find sufficient orders to run […]
Disneyland Economics And Planning For 2011
Please stop taking the Mickey.. Source of picture: China Daily By John Richardson ECONOMIC bubbles have been given their name for a good reason: They behave exactly the same as the soap bubbles that were prevalent at Hong Kong’s Disneyland, where I paid with my three-year-old son yesterday. So when the momentum of rising […]
No Going Back, But Don’t Expect Smooth Ride
Cloth nappies?….you have to be kidding Source of picture: babygavin.com By John Richardson IT IS the biggest transformation that the global economy has probably ever undergone, resulting in numerous opportunities and challenges for the chemicals industry as emerging markets continue to boom. The obvious opportunity is for those who can meet […]
Douple-dip Appears To Have Begun
By John Richardson The start of the next dip in what this blog has long thought would be a double-dip economic crisis looks as if it could have begun. If not now, it’s going to happen at some point because of major global imbalances. What’s worrying right now is the combination of: *Potentially weaker demand […]
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