Entries from Chemicals & The Economy tagged with 'Germany'
China gains as world trade slows
Sometimes a picture is worth 1000 words. The chart above, from the New York Times, highlights the massive changes that are taking place in world trade flows. These are of critical importance to the chemical industry, one of the world's...
Global chemicals volume back to 2006 level
The probable ending of the destocking/restocking phase is a good moment to look back at what has happened to chemical industry volume in recent years. The chart, based on data kindly supplied by Kevin Swift of the ACC, shows how...
European auto sales increase versus 2008
Any improvement in the troubled auto sector is extremely good news for the chemical industry, after the battering of the past few months. Thus the blog welcomes news, as the chart shows, that European sales increased 2.4% in June, the...
Germany, China, struggle as exports slump
Germany and China have benefited massively from the growth in world trade since 1980. As the Wall Street Journal chart shows, 47% of Germany's GDP comes from exports. And China has a 37% dependence. US exports are just 13% of...
Exporting is no fun anymore
Japan and Germany are the great exporting countries of the industrialised world. They didn't have the consumer booms seen in the USA and UK. Yet their economies are plunging, as export opportunities dry up. Yesterday, the Japanese finance minister, Kaoru...
Auto suppliers face difficult time as bankruptcies rise
The decline in auto sales is now threatening many industry suppliers around the world: • Today, the main Japanese car parts group has warned that "Toyota's production cuts will cause bankruptcies among suppliers if the government restricts aid to large...
BASF - the German oil and gas company
BASF's reported results for 2008 show that its profits are increasingly coming from the oil and gas sector. Geographically, it is becoming similarly dependent on its German operations. Agricultural and performance products put in a strong performance during the year,...
Germany's industrial orders collapse 29%
There is little justice in today's recession. Countries that saved hard, and avoided reckless lending, are seeing their economies collapse as fast as those that spent as if there was no tomorrow. Thus Germany is now following the path already...
The Swedish model
The blog has given up counting the number of US banks that have failed in recent weeks, away from the headlnes. Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of America, predicted last month that half of all US banks would fail, and...
A debate opens up
Peer Steinbrück, the German finance minister, has joined the growing list of politicians with a view on the current economic crisis. His analysis differs markedly from that expressed by President Bush on Wednesday. 'The financial market crisis is above all...
German and Spanish economies turn down
I noted last month that German industrial production fell 2.4% in May, and that Chancellor Angela Merkel was expecting 'a significant fall' in economic growth for 2009. This fall now seems to be already underway. Industrial output fell by a...
Germany's growth slows
Germany is the powerhouse economy of Europe. Its also a late-cycle economy, relying more on engineering and equipment sales than consumer spending. So until recently, its growth has seemingly not been affected by the global slowdown. But Germany's Chancellor, Angela...
Gazprom moves further into petchems
Gazprom is becoming a player to watch in petchems. For decades, observers have speculated that Russia might increase its petchem activity. A recent comment by Gazprom deputy CEO, Valery Golubev, seemed to bring this concept closer to reality. He said...
Chemical company valuations
The prices paid for Petkim and for Lustran reflect two very different perspectives on the current market:...
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