By John Richardson CHEMICALS and polymer markets have enjoyed a very strong recovery in Asia since November/December, according to many of the traders we have spoken to. “We are getting $150-200/tonne more for benzene and toluene in January compared with early November. There has been a strong recovery in confidences,” said a Dubai-based trader. […]
Asian Chemical Connections
China’s Internet Decision
By John Richardson CHINA’S polyethylene (PE) market sentiment rebounded in mid-December on greater confidence that the country’s new leaders meant business on economic reform. And since then, commodity prices in general, including those for iron ore have rebounded thanks to a slew of data that indicates a recovery in growth. Some of the renewed confidence in […]
The Best Of All Possible Worlds
Source of graph: http://www.businessspectator.com.au/ By John Richardson “Candide, the classic novel of the great French writer Voltaire, is a satirical description of a young man who has been taught that ‘everything is for the best in the best of all possible worlds’,” wrote Paul Hodges in this blog post last week. Thus, we have […]
China To Grow at 3 Percent
By John Richardson THE possibility that China’s economy may not expand as rapidly in the future as in the past is never discussed in public by resources-company CEOs, said an Australian-based stockbroker. His comments ring true for petrochemicals, also. The blog is struggling to find a senior executive willing to discuss this possibility on the […]
China’s Great Growth Gamble
Source of picture: www.todaysfinancialnews.com China’s feverishly fast construction of roads, power plants and new industrial capacity has been designed to offset the decline in exports – and what a short-term success the policy has been. Of the 7.7% of GDP (gross domestic product) growth recorded for the first nine months of this year, 7.3 […]
China borrowing from the future?
It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement over the rebound in the Chinese economy and miss underlying weaknesses which point to some major problems ahead. To some extent, in a desperate effort to compensate for collapsing export trade, China might have borrowed from the future in order to achieve a swift recovery. “The […]
Jump to page: