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Chemicals and the Economy

Global economy goes Back to the Future

Between 1854 and 1982, the US economy was in recession for 35% of the time, according to Deutsche Bank research. But between November 1982 and December 2007, as the chart shows, it was only in recession for 5% of the time, just 16 months in 25 years. Something very unusual clearly happened during this period. […]

Merrill cuts back on private jets

I suppose when an industry has lost $400bn in a year, some sacrifices have to be made. In May, I documented how Deutsche Bank was no longer approving expense claims for ‘adult entertainment’. Well, things have got worse since then, as the losses have continued to mount: • Goldman staff have to contribute to repair […]

Deutsche Bank ends porn channel expenses

Spare a thought for the plight of the world’s investment bankers. According to the Financial Times, some minor cutbacks are finally taking place in the extravagant lifestyle to which they have come accustomed: • UBS, having lost $11bn in Q1, has now told its analysts to fly economy on short-haul flights. • Merrill Lynch bankers […]

Interesting Quotes (2)

Credit market problems intensified last week, even though stock markets rallied strongly until Wednesday. I thought you might like to see some more comments on what is going on, from people close to the action. ‘Trust was shaken today (Wednesday). Credit depends on trust. If trust disappears, then credit disappears, and you have a systemic […]

Oil prices and the euro

The US dollar has been falling steadily in recent weeks. It is particularly weak against the euro, having fallen almost 5% since January. OPEC countries buy much more from the eurozone than from the US, and the OPEC President has said they are ‘concerned’ about dollar weakness. We probably need to start monitoring oil prices […]

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