China’s credit bubble is one of the largest the world has ever seen. This is true not only of its total size, but also in relation to GDP. The history of credit bubbles is very clear about what happens next. Anyone who has followed the US subprime lending disaster will know the script already. But […]
Chemicals and the Economy
High Frequency Trading dominates as markets crash
The blog was almost alone at the end of April, when it launched the IeC Downturn Alert. Today, its fear that we are close to a global downturn has become mainstream. As the American Chemistry Council report, “fears of another global recession are rising with several noted forecasters raising the chances of another recession to […]
Protectionism moves closer as countries try to devalue
A year ago, a panicked Federal Reserve introduced its QE2 programme. One of its key aims was to kick-start US growth via driving down the value of the US$ and boosting exports. Since then: • The US$ has fallen, and US exports have increased • But other major countries have become alarmed about the impact […]
Goldman halves global ethylene growth estimate
Goldman Sachs today halved its estimate for global ethylene growth to ~2.5%, and slashed its earnings estimates for some major US companies. Analyst Robert Koort warns: “Our outlook for earnings growth has decelerated substantially in recent weeks … Our economists now expect US GDP to grow only 1.7% in 2011 and 2.1% in 2012 vs. […]
Chrysler warns of China threat
Chrysler CEO, Sergio Marchionne, has issued a wake-up call to Western auto companies about the growth of China’s exports. He warns that they “can’t count on dramatic growth in Asia to drive prosperity“, and suggests that China’s plans to increase auto exports pose an “enormous” risk. Meanwhile, US auto sales disappointed again in July. As […]
China’s auto market goes ex-growth
China’s auto market has gone ex-growth, as the above chart shows. Monthly sales in July (red square) were the 2nd lowest since July 2010. The problem is the continuing fall-out from the end of China’s great credit bubble. Inflation hit a new high of 6.5% in July. More importantly, food prices rose by 14.8%, up […]
Boom/Gloom Index suggests markets on the edge
There’s “a 50% chance that the US could slide into a new recession“, according to Harvard’s Prof Martin Feldstein. He sees the economy as “really balanced on the edge“, with housing still depressed and consumer spending flat. The blog’s own IeC Boom/Gloom Index is flagging similar concerns. As the chart shows, the Index for July […]
Markets fall as politicians argue
The blog’s IeC Downturn Alert is now 3 months old. The aim was to provide enough time for readers to develop robust contingency plans, as a new global downturn became more and more likely. A key issue is that dysfunctional political systems in the eurozone, USA and China seem unable to deliver sensible solutions to […]
Q2 chemical results raise concerns about the outlook
The blog’s quarterly review of company results shows a considerable shift in mood since May. Then, many analysts were completely fooled by the short-term support provided to margins by higher oil prices. And only Peter Huntsman warned about the risks of high oil prices, unemployment and economic fragility. Q2 results show many more companies adopting […]
Bayer and Shell to speak at Amsterdam Conference
We have another strong speaker line-up for our 10th European Aromatics & Derivatives conference on 22-23 November in Amsterdam, co-organised as usual with ICIS. Patrick Thomas, CEO of Bayer Material Science, will talk about the outlook from the viewpoint of a major global aromatics consumer. Alexander Farina, GM strategy for Shell Chemicals, will give his […]
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