February 2009 - ICIS Blogs

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Top 10 Disadvantages of Teleworking

The advantages of working from home are well known and so frequently mentioned as "the news and coming thing" that I am heartily bored with the subject. I have to declare an interest - I worked from home in Devon for seven years in the late...

Published 24 Feb 2009 7:53 by ICIS Chemicals Confidential

Filed under: hi-tech, corporate life, birthday, lunch, Blackberry, teleworking, remote working
LyondellBasell may be largest-ever bankruptcy

The financial fallout from the Lyondell (LBI) bankruptcy continues, as the banks slowly begin to acknowledge their losses. According to Bloomberg , Len Blavatnik (Access Industries chairman) "didn't put any of his firm's money toward buying...

Published 9 Feb 2009 18:44 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: Financial Events, M & A, Leverage, recession, Goldman Sachs, Petrochemicals, polyethylene, Merrill Lynch, polypropylene, polymers, Citigroup, RBS, LyondellBasell, Bank of America, Apollo
$26bn LyondellBasell restructuring hits legal minefield

Vita's restructuring was relatively simple from a legal point of view, as it just involved European rules. But Lyondell Chemical's bankruptcy filing last month under the US Chapter 11 process seems to have thrown up some very complex legal issues...

Published 20 Feb 2009 9:43 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: BASF, Economic growth, Financial Events, M & A, Leverage, Basell, Shell, LyondellBasell, Apollo, restructuring, Lyondell
The corn-ethanol carbon balance argument again

There is an interesting video on Climate Central about the amount of carbon dioxide produced when ethanol is made from corn grown in the mid-West of the US. Hard to tell who is right in this debate (if any one is) the different premises are all important...

Published 12 Feb 2009 9:57 by The Big Biofuels Blog

Filed under: America, USA, US, ethanol, Agriculture, Corn, Environment, video, carbon, Climate, Bioethanol, dioxide, mid-West, Central
Fuel hedging a disaster for Air France-KLM

The airline Air France-KLM blamed fuel hedging for its heavy third-quarter losses, and announced that it would be scrapping the disastrous strategy in 2009. While crude oil prices fell from the $140s/barrel to $47/barrel, the airline's fuel hedging...

Published 14 Feb 2009 18:31 by ICIS Chemicals Confidential

Filed under: fuel, business travel, trading, airlines, Air France-KLM, jet fuel, crude, fuel costs, hedging
Oil and chemical execs in plane-crash team-building

Oil and chemical company executives are amongst those who are taking part in team-building exercises run by British Airways where they experience a simulated plane crash in a hangar at Heathrow. In a smoke-filled Boeing 737 they fight their way to freedom...

Published 1 Feb 2009 18:18 by ICIS Chemicals Confidential

Filed under: business travel, Heathrow, team-building, corporate life, British Airways, training, airports
Nando Flipse joins Trammochem trading aromatics

Nando Flipse will join traders Trammochem as part of the aromatics trading team as of 1 March 2009, a company spokesman announced on Friday. Flipse, formerly with INEOS in the UK, will be working out of Trammochem's Altendorf, Switzerland office....

Published 6 Feb 2009 12:11 by ICIS Chemicals Confidential

Filed under: trading, aromatics, Trammochem, Switzerland
Wal-Mart is using biofuel and reclaimed cooking oil in truck fleet

Wal-Mart is using biofuel and reclaimed cooking oil in truck fleet, that's according to Tree Hugger. Now if a firm the size of Wal-Mart starts getting really serious about used cooking oil then the price is going to hit the roof. Read More...

Published 5 Feb 2009 14:57 by The Big Biofuels Blog

Filed under: biofuel, biofuels, fuel, Oil, Wal-Mart, cooking
David Paul moves to Cargill Switzerland

David Paul has moved to Cargill International in Switzerland as head of petrochemicals, he informed ICIS on Monday. Paul was previously at Barclays Capital where he promoted plastics futures trading on the London Metals Exchange (LME). Read More...

Published 23 Feb 2009 10:43 by ICIS Chemicals Confidential

Filed under: futures, plastics, trading, Cargill, LME, Barclays Capital
Green products are recession-proof

A recent survey commissioned by certification firm Green Seal and advertising/PR agency EnviroMedia Social Marketing reported that four out five people they surveyed are still buying green products and services despite the current recession. Half of the...

Published 9 Feb 2009 19:04 by Green Chemicals

Filed under: green, General, studies and reports, consumer, recession, survey
Alternative fuel interest highest ever

Bookmark & Share To: From: Note: Email Favorites Digg Del.icio.us MySpace Google Facebook Live Yahoo Buzz More ... Yesterday, I attended a press conference hosted by BIO (Biotechnology Industry Organization) on the launch of a biofuel study conducted...

Published 11 Feb 2009 15:44 by Green Chemicals

Filed under: biofuel, Company initiatives, Investments, General, studies and reports, GM, BIO, alternative fuels, Sandia
Brazil's exports fall 29%

The emerging economies, which built their growth on exports to the West, are being badly hit by the global recession. Brazil, where poverty levels were at their lowest level for 30 years, is now seeing recent gains unwind. Its exports fell 29% in January...

Published 4 Feb 2009 11:40 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: Brazil, Economic growth, Oil markets, housing, Petrochemicals, polymers, chemical demand, BRIC
Two Jatropha projects in India

Two Jatropha to biofuels projects have got under way in India in the past two days. According to the India's Business standard 100 million Jatropha saplings have been planted in Chhattisgarth. Meanwhile Sulekha.com has Bharat Petroleum to invest Rupee...

Published 12 Feb 2009 10:20 by The Big Biofuels Blog

Filed under: Agriculture, Biodiesel, India, Jatropha, Bharat, Chhattisgarth
Adult biz gone green

Who says the adult novelty industry is not environment-friendly?? Dreamscapes , an adult business company, said that they are setting "good example" for businesses across the board by getting green certification from the Institute for Green...

Published 9 Feb 2009 21:42 by Green Chemicals

Filed under: Company initiatives, green, General, certification, adult industry
Abu Dhabi snaps up Nova Chemicals

Nova's CEO, Jeffrey Lipton, has always been the great optimist of the petrochemical industry. As recently as December , he was arguing at the GPCA meeting that "demand forecasts will prove to be too low", and forecasting a shortage of ethylene...

Published 24 Feb 2009 10:00 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: Economic growth, Financial Events, M & A, Leverage, Petrochemicals, polyethylene, Nova, Jeffrey Lipton, IPIC, Abu Dhabi, OMV, Borealis

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February 2009 - ICIS Blogs

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Recent Posts

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Top 10 Disadvantages of Teleworking

LyondellBasell may be largest-ever bankruptcy

$26bn LyondellBasell restructuring hits legal minefield

The corn-ethanol carbon balance argument again

Fuel hedging a disaster for Air France-KLM

Oil and chemical execs in plane-crash team-building

Nando Flipse joins Trammochem trading aromatics

Wal-Mart is using biofuel and reclaimed cooking oil in truck fleet

David Paul moves to Cargill Switzerland

Green products are recession-proof

Alternative fuel interest highest ever

Brazil's exports fall 29%

Two Jatropha projects in India

Adult biz gone green

Abu Dhabi snaps up Nova Chemicals