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• |Hank Paulson
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• "Real" people start to suffer even more

  I grew up in a small town called Bingley in West Yorkshire in the UK, where there are two major employers - the head offices of a building society (or what was once a building bociety, but became a failed bank - see picture above) and a clothing business... Posted Sep 30 2008, 04:11 AM by Asian Chemical Connections Filed under: Economics, UK, Europe, Polyolefins, Business, financial meltdown, Bradford and Bingley, consumer spending, auto industry, plastic packaging, |Hank Paulson

• Tainted food hits polymer sales

  As if the problems confronting China's polyolefin markets were not enough, sales have apparently been further hit by the tainted food scares which began with baby's milk. A wide range of products are now affected with Cadbury becoming the latest... Posted Sep 29 2008, 02:15 PM by Asian Chemical Connections Filed under: China, Environment, Middle East, Polyolefins, Projects, Australia, financial meltdown, China civil unrest, Tainted food, Cadbury

• The big challenges

  As delegates gather for this year's European Petrochemical Association meeting in the unreal world of Monaco (unrealf or 99.9 per cent recurring of us), I thought it was worth summarising some of the issues discussed on this blog over the last few... Posted Sep 27 2008, 08:55 AM by Asian Chemical Connections Filed under: US, Economics, China, biomass, Environment, technology, Europe, BASF, Polyolefins, Business, Oil & Gas, Naphtha & other feedstocks, EPCA, sustainability, natural gas, Managing people, Company Strategy, Peak Oil, David Strahan, oil price, National University of Singapore

• Historic polyolefin market collapse

  For the first time, quite probably, since the Chinese economy opened some producers are predicting that polyolefin demand growth could be flat or even negative this year. In the case of PE, reports are emerging of sales declines above 20% over the last... Posted Sep 23 2008, 10:21 AM by Asian Chemical Connections Filed under: Economics, China, Olefins, Polyolefins, Business, Oil & Gas, Naphtha & other feedstocks, Company Strategy, oil-supply crisis, financial meltdown, polyolefin market collapse, financial rescue package

• A drowning man will clutch onto anything

  A drowning man will grab hold of any floating debris - even a plastic bag made from standard-grade Chinese polyethylene (PE). Hence, last Friday a statement by Wang Tianpu led to a few days of excited speculation about the cancellation of several Chinese... Posted Sep 12 2008, 10:11 AM by Asian Chemical Connections Filed under: Economics, China, Environment, Indonesia, India, Middle East, Olefins, Polyolefins, Projects, Business, Oil & Gas, Markets, Philippines, Naphtha & other feedstocks, sustainability, Deutsche Bank, Company Strategy, Innnovation, Peak Oil, coal gasification, Sumitomo Chemical, gas pricing, Saudi Aramco, coal-o-chemicals, PetroRabigh

• Japan' corporate hero

  Back in the 1980s, before Japan's "Lost Decade" of stagnant growth, management gurus lined up to praise the country's collective spirit as the basis of a sustainable economic miracle. Since then, of course, the West has been consistently... Posted Aug 12 2008, 12:12 AM by Asian Chemical Connections Filed under: Economics, Japan, Middle East, Olefins, Polyolefins, Projects, Business, Managing people, Knowledge management, Company Strategy, losing face, manga, Lost Decade, Japanese conformism

• Crazy money breeds new thinking

  This article from The New Scientist suggests we might have to develop a whole new way of asssesing what drives all commodity markets. Intuitively, everyone knows that the herd instinct matters. But to measure this mathematically, or statistically, seems... Posted Jul 24 2008, 10:00 AM by Asian Chemical Connections Filed under: Economics, Olefins, Polyolefins, Oil & Gas, Markets, Naphtha & other feedstocks, sub-prime misery, forecasting, Don't Panic!

• The search for more basic petrochemicals

  Very interesting speech from Alan Kirkley, Vice President of Strategy and Portfolio for Shell Chemicals, which first of all goes over the predictable ground of where we are in the cycle and the threat from the Middle East. However, he then makes the valid... Posted Apr 10 2008, 08:26 AM by Asian Chemical Connections Filed under: Economics, China, technology, Middle East, Olefins, Polyolefins, Projects, Oil & Gas, Markets, Naphtha & other feedstocks, catalytic cracking, hydrocracking, LNG

• History will surely repeat itself

  The mood at the recent NPRA International Petrochemical Conference in San Antonio, Texas, was mixed, despite all the economic gloom. Some producers said they were still making money - especially those selling into manufacturing sectors benefiting from... Posted Apr 08 2008, 08:05 AM by Asian Chemical Connections Filed under: Economics, China, technology, aromatics, Japan, oil prices, Polyolefins, Projects, Business, Oil & Gas, Markets, US recession, gasoline, US housing

• Is the last margin grab over?

  Shortly after I wrote this article (see below) on the doom and gloom surrounding China polyolefins markets, hey presto, prices rallied and I was wondering whether I needed to be wiping egg off my face. But shortly after the slight rally occurred, a polyolefins... Posted Mar 24 2008, 05:05 AM by Asian Chemical Connections Filed under: Economics, China, Olefins, Polyolefins, Projects, Oil & Gas, China slowdown, Markets, US recession, China pollution

• Balancing economics with the environment

  Recent comments by An Qiyuan, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee for Shaanxi, warned of the environment and social catastrophe facing the northwestern province of China because of a shortage of water. He was referring... Posted Mar 05 2008, 08:23 AM by Asian Chemical Connections Filed under: China, Environment, Dow Chemical, Olefins, Polyolefins, Oil & Gas, coal-to-chemicals, Naphtha & other feedstocks

• If I had a dollar for every time.........

  .......I had heard a company saying it was moving up the value chain (or rather a Euro or a British pound these days), I wouldn't be writing this blog entry while smelling the wonderful aroma of pork sausages being cooked for my tea. Brown sauce and... Posted Feb 19 2008, 01:01 PM by Asian Chemical Connections Filed under: China, technology, aromatics, Dow Chemical, Olefins, Polyolefins, brown sauce and mash, Pork sausages, performance products, Styrenics, Projects, Business

• China growth under severe threat

  I could easily be accused of ceaseless pessimism, but growth in China is moderating - regardless of what your view is of the extended article below on the impact of the bad-weather crisis. Slowing exports were already eating into estimates of GDP growth... Posted Feb 05 2008, 09:26 AM by Asian Chemical Connections Filed under: Economics, China, inflation, Polyolefins, Business, Oil & Gas, China slowdown, more blue-eared pig problems, Markets

• Here we go again - 1997 is back.....

  I sincerely hope not, but all the signs are there because of: *A financial crisis which nobody again saw coming, this time with global implications *What could prove to be too much spending on new equipment and capacity. This time high equity prices have... Posted Jan 22 2008, 05:41 AM by Asian Chemical Connections Filed under: Economics, China, Indonesia, Japan, Middle East, Olefins, Polyolefins, Styrenics, Projects, Business, Oil & Gas, Markets, I wish I was more cash-rich, Malaysia, Philippines, Fibre Intermediates, Naphtha & other feedstocks, Thailand, New economic crisis, Singapore

• Can India compete with China?

  India is already being held back in mass manufacturing by restrictive labour practices and poor infrastructure - meaning the answer to the above question is already a resounding no in some sectors. The rise of the rupee is also a concern, as this article... Posted Dec 19 2007, 09:06 AM by Asian Chemical Connections Filed under: Economics, China, India, Polyolefins, Soaring rupeee, restrictive labour practices, terrible roads