January 2009 - ICIS Blogs

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Renewable Energy in 401(k)

Would you like your company to add Renewable Energy Mutual Funds to your 401(K) ? I would. My 401K is probably so depleted by now that renewable energy funds might just be the thing to enable me to retire to Aruba. Just make sure that Madoff-type investors...

Published 13 Jan 2009 16:44 by Green Chemicals

Filed under: Company initiatives, Investments, General, renewable energy, stimulus package, mutual funds, 401K
Emami Biotech in commercial jatropha biofuel production

Emami Biotech is using Jatropha in commercial jatropha biofuel production according to the Bioenergy site. If this is the case, and the report is a little garbled, then could it be the first commercial application of that technology? Read More...

Published 16 Jan 2009 15:12 by The Big Biofuels Blog

Filed under: Agriculture, Biodiesel, India, Jatropha, Biotech, Emami, Halida
Jatropha Sustainable Biofuels Alliance

I've just come across the Jatropha Sustainable Biofuels Alliance , it is based in Switzerland and aims to be a group that will lobby for Jatropha to be seen as a good second generation biofuel that does not compete with food crops. Read More...

Published 20 Jan 2009 13:57 by The Big Biofuels Blog

Filed under: biofuels, sustainable, Jatropha, lobby, Trade Association, group, alliance
Why golf and chemicals go together

The perennial topic of golf and chemicals is given another airing by my colleague Ivan Lerner in our New York office, in a humorous article in this week's ICIS Chemical Business: " Skip the First 18 Holes ." He espouses the theory that "the...

Published 12 Jan 2009 17:47 by ICIS Chemicals Confidential

Filed under: chemicals, trivia, ICIS, ICIS Chemical Business, golf, shorts, Ivan Lerner
Could Moringa be the new Jatropha?

It is not that I'm bored by Jatropha yet, in the same way that I'm bored by some of the feverishness about corn ethanol, but there is another protential tropical biofuel from a tree called Moringa. Wikipedia sugests the trees could produce 112...

Published 19 Jan 2009 10:21 by The Big Biofuels Blog

Filed under: biofuels, Biodiesel, Trees, tropical, Veg Oil, Moringa
INEOS announce €1bn inventory loss in Q4

In early October , I forecast that we were about to revisit "the scariest moment of my 30 year chemical career", adding that: "The moment the blog has long feared, and warned about , may be about to arrive. It appears that we may be about...

Published 25 Jan 2009 17:14 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: Economic growth, Oil markets, Financial Events, housing, credit crunch, Futures trading, Leverage, recession, crude oil prices, Ineos, auto sales, polymers, LyondellBasell
Weight gain and business travel

It starts at the airport with the comforting cappuccino and the plateful of dinky little mini-croissants and pains au chocolat, because after all it was such an early start and there wasn't time for breakfast at home. Then there are the long hours...

Published 29 Jan 2009 19:13 by ICIS Chemicals Confidential

Filed under: Food, trivia, business travel, Singapore, hotels, New York, meetings, beer, breakfast, jogging
Wal-Mart to reduce detergent phosphates

Phosphates doomed fate in detergent cleaners will probably be sealed this week as big box retailer Wal-Mart announced its plans to reduce phosphates in laundry and dish detergents sold in the Americas by 70% by 2011. Wal-Mart said phosphates from detergents...

Published 29 Jan 2009 13:13 by Green Chemicals

Filed under: Company initiatives, Government, phosphates, sustainability, packaging, detergent, Walmart
Virgin - the world's funniest passenger complaint

Thanks to my ICIS colleague Paul Ray for this classic passenger complaint letter which is circulating the world in email and now enshrined in an article in the UK's Daily Telegraph. Read More...

Published 30 Jan 2009 14:30 by ICIS Chemicals Confidential

Filed under: India, Virgin, trivia, business travel, Heathrow, jokes, airline food, complaints
NYC mayor plans to tax plastic bag

I just received a press release from the American Chemistry Council (ACC) berating Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to tax New York city residents on their use of grocery plastic bags. City Hall proposed that stores charge customers a 5 cent fee for each...

Published 30 Jan 2009 14:07 by Green Chemicals

Filed under: Regulation, NYC, Government, plastic bag, tax
IMF says "demand has collapsed", sees "deflation risk"

A year ago , the International Monetary Fund rightly warned that the world was facing a "serious economic slowdown". This week , it has updated its forecasts, and now "expects the global economy to come to a virtual standstill in 2009"...

Published 31 Jan 2009 12:40 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: China, Economic growth, Oil markets, Financial Events, credit crunch, M & A, Leverage, OPEC, Saudi Arabia, crude oil prices, IMF, financial stability
Most economic forecasts are too optimistic

Prof David Blanchflower, of the Bank of England, is not optimistic that the current recession will end soon . He notes that "few macro-economists actually spotted the greatest financial crisis in a hundred years". And in the chart above, showing...

Published 31 Jan 2009 18:30 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: Economic growth, Financial Events, Bank of England, M & A, Leverage, recession, OECD, Prof David Blanchflower
Cramer hits at Dow's Liveris

The credibility of some chemical industry CEO's seems to be under increasing attack, due to their apparent failure to develop proper contingency plans in advance of the current recession. One example this week comes from the USA, where Jim Cramer...

Published 31 Jan 2009 17:53 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: Economic growth, Oil markets, Financial Events, M & A, Leverage, recession, Andrew Liveris, Dow Chemical, Jim Cramer
Lobbying for protection

Protecting local companies during these difficult times is back on the Indian government's agenda. Antidumping investigations are on the rise with companies working hard to prove that low priced imports are hurting their businesses. The government...

Published 30 Jan 2009 7:34 by India Chemicals Blog

Filed under: China, Companies, Petrochemicals, Government Policy, economy, caustic soda, polyol, dumping, South Korea, melamine, nitrile rubber, synthetic rubber, ADD
Global chemical production down 4.4% in November

Global chemical production is now falling at an alarming rate, down over 4% in November, as core demand from housing/construction and auto markets collapses. Only the Middle East is now seeing positive growth year-on-year. As the chart shows (using ACC...

Published 25 Jan 2009 17:43 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: construction, Economic growth, housing, Petrochemicals, auto sales, polymers, consumer spending, chemical sales

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January 2009 - ICIS Blogs

Syndication

Recent Posts

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Archives

Renewable Energy in 401(k)

Emami Biotech in commercial jatropha biofuel production

Jatropha Sustainable Biofuels Alliance

Why golf and chemicals go together

Could Moringa be the new Jatropha?

INEOS announce €1bn inventory loss in Q4

Weight gain and business travel

Wal-Mart to reduce detergent phosphates

Virgin - the world's funniest passenger complaint

NYC mayor plans to tax plastic bag

IMF says "demand has collapsed", sees "deflation risk"

Most economic forecasts are too optimistic

Cramer hits at Dow's Liveris

Lobbying for protection

Global chemical production down 4.4% in November