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Chemicals and the Economy

Budgeting for the end of “Business as Usual”

Companies and investors are starting to finalise their plans for the coming year.  Many are assuming that the global economy will grow by 3% – 3.5%, and are setting targets on the basis of “business as usual”.  This has been a reasonable assumption for the past 25 years, as the chart confirms for the US economy: […]

The World’s Economy Soared Last Year (or Plunged)

  ECONOMIC TRENDS    Danny Hakim @dannyhakim FEB. 8, 2016 “LONDON — Did global output rise or fall last year?” That’s the critical question asked by the New York Times today. It follows my recent blog post, suggesting we shouldn’t ignore the fact that IMF data shows a record $3.8tn fall in global GDP last year, when […]

$20tn US, China stimulus and lending – but recovery elusive

Despite all the positive headlines, the world’s two largest economies have failed to deliver sustained recovery, even though the 2 governments have now spent a combined $20tn in stimulus and lending. US STIMULUS REACHES $10tn The US government and Federal Reserve have spent $10tn since the Great Recession began in 2008.  Federal deficits have increased by $6.27tn, whilst […]

China GDP reports remain “man-made and therefore unreliable”

The blog got 54.8m results from Google when it entered the phrase “China GDP” this week.  The only problem, seemingly unrecognised by most analysts, is that China’s GDP report is a completely fictitious number, invented by the leadership each quarter to suit its own narrative. This sounds a bold statement, but it isn’t: China is the only country to […]

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