Margins and volumes are under enormous pressure in most chemical markets. And as noted in the 2009 Outlook, companies need to develop an imaginative response to the pricing issues that they face. They also need to maintain faith in the future by continuing to innovate. Thus the blog was pleased to be invited to Dow […]
Chemicals and the Economy
US unemployment hits 9.4%
The US unemployment rate is now at its second highest level since records began in 1948. It was only higher in the early 1980’s, at 10.9% in December 1982. It rose last month to 9.4%, and is now above the May 1975 peak of 9%. The only positive sign is that the pace of job […]
V-shaped sellers meet L-shaped buyers
Picture: www.businessoffashion.com A senior figure in the investment community told the blog recently that companies’ views on the outlook for the economy seemed to vary according to their own financial position: “the stronger the balance sheet, the more realistic (and worse) the view on the economy”. This analysis was confirmed at an interesting M&A Round […]
Germany attacks central bank policy
During the growth years, it became fashionable for politicians to claim that central banks were “independent”. But as the current crisis has grown, this has been increasingly exposed as a myth. As the blog noted back in September 2007, Alan Greenspan (former US Federal Reserve Chairman), revealed that ‘the presumption that we were fully independent […]
Difficult decisions loom on future US auto demand
By the end of May last year, 6.2m autos had been sold in the US market, each containing $2700 of chemicals (according to the ACC). The total sales value to the chemical industry was $16.8bn. So far this year, just 3.9m autos have been sold, with a value of $10.7bn. Recent downturns have always seen […]
Markets in Wonderland
Picture: www.amazon.com “Sometimes, I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast” said the Queen in Lewis Carroll’s famous book, ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Today would have been a good day for her to practise this ability, as she read her newspaper: GM, once the world’s largest auto manufacturer, went into bankruptcy. US stock markets […]
May’s top posts
The 3 most popular posts in May were: Dow, Ineos focus on debt issues Rotterdam oil storage running out of space Green shoots likely to be yellow weeds The blog will be celebrating its 2nd birthday at the end of the month. I would welcome your comments on what you value about it, and what […]
China’s plastic bag ban cuts usage by 66%
A year ago today, China banned the issue of free plastic bags from supermarkets, shops and open markets. And it seems the ban has had considerable success. Supermarkets have used 66% fewer bags, according to government figures. The ban has saved 1.6m tons of oil, whilst also reducing pollution. Although street markets seem to have […]
Russia’s chemical production tumbles
Last week’s global production numbers highlighted the startling collapse in output from Central & Eastern Europe. This was the worst regional performer in Q1, and the blog decided to investigate further. Russian output is key to the region’s performance. And the chart, based on data kindly provided by ICIS’s Sergei Blagov, shows how all parts […]
Adultery signals for traders
My fellow-blogger, Barbara, cleverly spotted this week’s ‘Global Traders Summit’ in Singapore. Had this blog been there, it would have mentioned the latest, apparently fool-proof, way to determine stock market turning points, based on bankers’ interest in adultery. According to Bloomberg, the Illicit Encounters website has a major increase in traffic when either the market […]
Jump to page: