Entries from Chemicals & The Economy tagged with 'central banks'
US interest rates turn negative
The irresponsibility of some parts of the global banking system continues to upset the blog. First, there was news that several banks are planning to award themselves huge 'bonuses', based largely on their trading success. Yet the money they are...
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...
The blog in 2008
The blog is now 18 months old. It has a truly global readership, and as shown in the above map, is now read in 1244 cities and 89 countries. Its aim has always been to identify 'the influences that may...
LyondellBasell considers bankruptcy
2008 has not ended well for the chemical industry. First there was the collapse in demand, as the various value chains destocked in response to slowing consumer demand and lower oil prices. Then INEOS, the world's 3rd largest chemical company,...
The 'difficult task of damage control'
The central bankers' bank (the Bank for International Settlements) is not very impressed with its members' efforts over the past year. Readers may remember that the BIS Report last year explicitly warned of the problems that were about to occur...
Japan’s factory output weakens
The blog has been following the debate over ‘decoupling’ with some interest. With the US going into a downturn, it is critical to understand whether Asian chemical markets will follow. Until recently, they have been buoyant, allowing US companies to...
US housing worsens
Its now 3 months since we first saw the impact of the subprime crisis. At that time, the main impact was on poor Americans, who were losing their homes. Then, in August, banks stopped lending to each other, causing credit...
The hurricane touches down
Extraordinary events have taken place in the UK since my posting on Friday: • A bankrun took place on the 8th largest bank, Northern Rock, with lines of depositors queuing for hours outside its branches all over the weekend and...
2008 Budgets just became more difficult to finalise
Central bankers are like generals. They seem to prefer fighting their last war, rather than preparing for the next one. How else to explain their continued reluctance to recognise that higher food and energy prices are here to stay? As...
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