May 2009 - ICIS Blogs

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Green blog burn out

The Green blogger is under deadline for the rest of the week and will not be able to post (and answer blog-related emails) until Monday. Sorry folks, gotta earn my keep! I'll be back on Monday with a wrap-up of [some of] last week's American Oil...

Published 8 May 2009 17:51 by Green Chemicals

Filed under: General
AOCS wrap-up Day 2

[Photo of AOCS annual meeting 1945. Photo Credit: AOCS] The second day at the American Oil Chemists Society (AOCS) centennial meeting was particularly interesting as in their Hot Topics Symposia for the morning session, I have to choose between Historical...

Published 13 May 2009 23:55 by Green Chemicals

Filed under: General, R&D, palm oil, sustainability, surfactant, unilever, Kimberly-Clark, AOCS
Green plastic surges in Brazil

Several bioplastic news came out last week as reporters from ICIS (the company I work for) covered the recent BrasilPlast tradeshow. Officials from BASF and Corn Products International announced their plans to build a new plant in Sao Paulo for the production...

Published 15 May 2009 21:45 by Green Chemicals

Filed under: Brazil, Company initiatives, Investments, bioplastic
Guides to safe plastics

Plastic manufacturers beware! I've been seeing a lot of these "Guides on safe plastics" in the tweeting world... Here's one from the Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility . They place HDPE (#2), LDPE (#4) and PP (#5) as safe plastics...

Published 20 May 2009 17:58 by Green Chemicals

Filed under: plastics, General, studies and reports, Health and safety, internet, safe, guides
Vivienne Westwood's plastic shoes

Plastic shoes aren't just limited to jellies and crocs for paddling in rockpools. Now designer Vivienne Westwood has a collection of PVC shoes at very reasonable prices, produced by Brazilian shoe giant Grendene, which has " developed an ecologically...

Published 6 May 2009 16:10 by ICIS Chemicals Confidential

Filed under: plastics, fashion, Brazil, PVC, shoes, fashjon, Vivienne Westwood
Micro-management gone too far?

"Nobody can see until the end of the month - never mind into the third quarter," commented an olefins trader recently. "The reason is that very senior managers are too busy micro-managing everything, from getting involved in trying to track...

Published 8 May 2009 7:26 by Asian Chemical Connections

Filed under: US, Economics, China, Indonesia, Europe, India, Japan, Middle East, Business, Markets, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, APIC, Managing people, Knowledge management, Company Strategy, South Korea, financial meltdown, CEOs, Taiwan, micro-management, commodity chemicals, credit control, human resources
The Blog goes Boxing

When I told my colleagues I was going to a boxing match last week they were incredulous. "So you like watching sweaty men beating each other to a pulp," said one. "You're turning into a boy," said another friend. As it turned out...

Published 7 May 2009 9:21 by ICIS Chemicals Confidential

Filed under: parties, corporate life, charity, sports, boxing, boxing headguards, boxing gloves, Manny Pacquiao, Ricky Hatton
California looks at emissions from crop to tail pipe and legislates

California's newly adopted low-carbon fuel standard may mark the beginning of the end of ethanol, according to a report on Planet Ark. The new legislation examines the carbon impact from seed to tailpipe, which seems sensible. Read More...

Published 1 May 2009 13:16 by The Big Biofuels Blog

Filed under: America, USA, US, ethanol, Policy, biofuel, biofuels, Environment, carbon, California
Hopes of China recovery "premature" - World Bank

The high level of speculation accompanying China's apparent economic revival worries the World Bank. "Until we see a recovery in private investment, it's hard to get too excited about the future," according to David Dollar, the Bank's...

Published 20 May 2009 14:03 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: China, Economic growth, Financial Events, Futures trading, Leverage, polyethylene, polymers, Dalian Futures Exchange
Acrylic 3D specs headline at Cannes Film Festival

Acrylic 3D specs were the must-have accessory as the Cannes Film Festival kicked off with Disney's animated film Up on Wednesday night. As filmgoers at cinema's biggest and glitziest gathering ditched their designer shades, it's likely that...

Published 14 May 2009 6:30 by ICIS Chemicals Confidential

Filed under: movies, hi-tech, France, films, Disney, Up, Cannes Film Festival, 3D specs, animation, 3D
Hello! magazine features ICIS reporter Truong

ICIS reporters are no strangers to High Society events and the celebrity lifestyle . Truong Mellor has his photo in this week's Hello! magazine at a friend's wedding in England's Lake District. It's on page 126 of the 12 May 2009 issue...

Published 8 May 2009 14:57 by ICIS Chemicals Confidential

Filed under: parties, gossip, celebrities, Lake District, Hello!, weddings
Elastomers and crystals heat up your cellulite

In a new and daunting undergarment to romeos everywhere, elastomers and heating crystals will not only pull in those determinedly extruding parts of the female anatomy but also melt the unwanted cellulite away, according to this article in today's...

Published 7 May 2009 18:05 by ICIS Chemicals Confidential

Filed under: Daily Mail, chemicals, fashion, women, health, clothes, fahion, elastomers
More credit crunch jokes

With public holidays in many parts of the world this weekend, my colleague Andy Gibbins has kindly collated a new selection of credit crunch jokes: You know it's a credit crunch when... • The cashpoint (ATM) asks if you can spare any change. • There's...

Published 22 May 2009 13:08 by Chemicals & The Economy
US house prices, building permits, see record declines

US house prices are still seeing "record declines" according to today's Case-Shiller home price index . The national price was down 19.1% from March 2008, and 32% from the Q2 2006 peak. As before, the over-built Sunbelt led the way, with...

Published 26 May 2009 17:27 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: Economic growth, Case-Shiller index, Financial Events, housing, Leverage
Scottish sporrans go plastic

In what may prove to be a turning point for the beleagured Scottish plastics industry, EU MEPs in Strasbourg have voted to outlaw the traditional sealskin sporran, leaving a gaping commercial hole for manufacturers of synthetic sporrans to fill. MEPs...

Published 7 May 2009 18:03 by ICIS Chemicals Confidential

Filed under: plastics, trivia, fashion, Daily Telegraph, Scotland, clothes, sporrans, kilts

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May 2009 - ICIS Blogs

Syndication

Recent Posts

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Archives

Green blog burn out

AOCS wrap-up Day 2

Green plastic surges in Brazil

Guides to safe plastics

Vivienne Westwood's plastic shoes

Micro-management gone too far?

The Blog goes Boxing

California looks at emissions from crop to tail pipe and legislates

Hopes of China recovery "premature" - World Bank

Acrylic 3D specs headline at Cannes Film Festival

Hello! magazine features ICIS reporter Truong

Elastomers and crystals heat up your cellulite

More credit crunch jokes

US house prices, building permits, see record declines

Scottish sporrans go plastic