The blog’s friends at the American Chemical Society are running some interesting free webinars this week on 30-31 August, and have invited blog readers to join: Navigating the Global Industrial Job Market with Richard Connell, Pfizer; Scott Harbeson, Concert Pharma; Jos Put, DSM Entrepreneurship + Innovation = Jobs with George Whitesides, Harvard University; Joseph Francisco, […]
Chemicals and the Economy
China’s power consumption hits new record
China’s growth in electricity consumption is a much better guide to its economic growth than the published GDP figures. This was confirmed by likely next premier, Li Keqiang. It has been a major reason for the blog’s long-standing focus on this key area. The problem with GDP is that it is a target for local […]
Investment banks reportedly dominated oil trading in US futures markets as prices spiked in June 2008
The investment banks have maintained a consistent focus on oil market supply disruptions and demand surges in recent years, alongside forecasts of sharply increasing prices. We discussed their role in more detail in the recently published Chapter 3 of our new free eBook, ‘Boom, Gloom and the New Normal‘. As the above chart from the […]
Towards a New Normal, not a new Supercycle
The blog was in a minority of one when it launched its IeC Downturn Alert at the end of April. But today, only a very few diehard optimists are still arguing the issue. GDP reports in Europe and the USA have shown virtually no growth in Q2, whilst China is clearly also slowing fast. It […]
Investors rush to save with the JUUGS
Most of us have now heard of the PIIGS countries (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Spain). They are the ones causing the Eurozone debt crisis. Today, the blog introduces the JUUGS (Japan, UK, USA, Germany, Switzerland). These are the major countries that investors now love. If you are worried about return of capital, rather than return […]
Downturn continues as financial markets sink
ICIS pricing is a very valuable resource, particularly at market turning points. It highlighted the start of the current downturn in April, when reporting that buyers had moved to operating on a ‘hand to mouth’ basis. Now, its market editors are highlighting the fragility of demand due to ‘economic uncertainty’. This is the moment when […]
Policymakers remain in the Denial phase
A year ago, the blog feared we were “still towards the beginning of the crisis”, not at its end. Sadly, its judgement seems to have been correct. 2 weeks after that post, the US Federal Reserve launched its now infamous $600bn QE2 programme. The aim was to provide further massive stimulus to the global economy. […]
US Fed policy may be going Back to the Future
Today’s 419 point fall on the Dow Jones Average, and $6/bbl fall in WTI crude oil prices, may not be just another example of the wild volatility that has come to seem normal in financial markets. It may also mark the end of an era. Since 1994, the US Federal Reserve has used all its […]
Buffett says US rich should pay higher taxes
Last year, Warren Buffett paid only $7m taxes, just 17.4% of his income. Now he says rich Americans, including himself, should pay more, in order to help reduce US debt. He notes that: • In 1992, the wealthiest 400 Americans paid 29.2% tax on $16.9bn income • In 2008, they paid just 21.5%, on incomes […]
Wal-Mart sends a message
The blog is a great believer in the predictive power of the retail sector. Wal-Mart and Tesco were the first to spot the downturn in the summer of 2007, a year before it became obvious to everyone else. Now Wal-Mart’s problems are providing some important messages about how companies need to adjust their strategies to […]
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