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Adultery signals for traders

My fellow-blogger, Barbara, cleverly spotted this week's 'Global Traders Summit' in Singapore. Had this blog been there, it would have mentioned the latest, apparently fool-proof, way to determine stock market turning points, based on bankers'...

Published 29 May 2009 19:51 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: Economic growth, Financial Events, credit crunch, Futures trading, M & A, Leverage, bankers, adultery
Paul's Credit Crunch Jokes

My fellow blogger, Paul Hodges, on his Chemicals and the Economy blog , has posted some more credit crunch jokes . (photo Rex) Read More...

Published 24 May 2009 18:57 by ICIS Chemicals Confidential

Filed under: blogs, trivia, credit crunch, jokes, humour, Chemicals and the Economy
Beat the credit crunch - Private Eye video

I like Private Eye's spoof on newspapers' tips on how to beat the credit crunch, read by comedians Harry Enfield, John Sessions, Lewis MacLeod and Jan Ravens, and filmed on stage at London's Lyttelton Theatre. "Don't serve expensive...

Published 22 Apr 2009 13:01 by ICIS Chemicals Confidential

Filed under: trivia, credit crunch, media life, Private Eye, theatre
Credit crisis losses head for $4 trillion

To misquote the famous HL Mencken phrase, "nobody ever went broke under-estimating the losses caused by the credit crisis". Initially, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke estimated the losses at just $100bn . Then, a year ago, the IMF said its estimate...

Published 9 Apr 2009 7:18 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: Economic growth, Financial Events, credit crunch, M & A, Leverage, subprime crisis, IMF
FT's Gillian Tett named 'Journalist of the Year'

The blog is delighted that the Financial Times' Gillian Tett has been named Journalist of the Year, in the annual UK awards. She was the first journalist to call attention to the dangers developing in financial markets, and has been an invaluable...

Published 6 Apr 2009 10:41 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: Economic growth, Currencies, Financial Events, credit crunch, M & A, Leverage, recession, economic downturn
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
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
Shanghai region slows

The Yangtze River Delta region (which includes Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang) accounted for 22% of China's GDP in 2007. It is focused on exports to the USA and EU, and is a major centre for chemicals production. But now, like the Pearl River Delta...

Published 19 Jan 2009 6:02 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: China, Economic growth, credit crunch, recession, Shanghai, Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, Zhejiang, Jiangsu
Eurozone under pressure

Early last year, the blog flagged up a warning from Gillian Tett in the Financial Times that Iceland could go bankrupt , as its banks were "too big to rescue". Yet at the time, the United Nations had listed it as having "the highest standard...

Published 15 Jan 2009 15:28 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: Economic growth, Currencies, credit crunch, Futures trading, M & A, Leverage, recession, Iceland, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Portugal
IMF warns on recession's "social consequences"

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, MD of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has a surprisingly hard-hitting interview today in Bloomberg. Casting aside normal central bank reticence he warns: • Their current $1.4 trillion forecast of global financial losses...

Published 12 Jan 2009 10:14 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: Economic growth, Financial Events, credit crunch, M & A, Leverage, recession, IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, social unrest, financial stability
Obama's new Plan reveals "uncertainty"

The new ACC weekly report rightly notes that "any economic recovery will likely begin with a turnaround in the residential housing situation". This is also the critical issue for the chemical industry, still reeling from last week's Lyondell...

Published 11 Jan 2009 18:36 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: Economic growth, Financial Events, housing, credit crunch, M & A, Leverage, American Chemistry Council, LyondellBasell, TARP, American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan
US job losses worst since 1945

The US suffered 2.589 million job losses in 2008, making it the worst year since 1945 . December's 524k losses caused the jobless rate to rise to 7.2%, the highest since 1994. Equally, the average work week fell to a record low of 33.3 hours. Stock...

Published 9 Jan 2009 14:52 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: Economic growth, Financial Events, credit crunch, M & A, Leverage, recession, Keynes
Bank shares drop on LyondellBasell exposure

The fallout from the Lyondell bankruptcy continues to grow. One analyst has suggested Swiss bank UBS has exposure of $500m - $1.5bn . Other banks, including the UK's RBS, also have large exposures. Writing-off these debts will in turn reduce the banks'...

Published 8 Jan 2009 11:07 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: Economic growth, Financial Events, credit crunch, M & A, Leverage, recession, bankruptcy, LyondellBasell
The Credit Crunch Anthem

This comedy credit crunch song "Caution to the Wind" to the tune of "Candle in the Wind" is a cheerful little tune you can hum along to while reading all the gloomy news about bankruptcy on ICIS news. Starring Gordon Brown and George...

Published 7 Jan 2009 13:01 by ICIS Chemicals Confidential

Filed under: trivia, credit crunch, President Bush, Caution to the Wind
US auto sales at 1992 levels

December was another bad month for US auto sales, with volumes down 36% versus 2007. Total 2008 sales of 13.2 million were the lowest since 1992, when the economy bottomed in the 1990-4 recession. As the chart shows, sales volumes dropped continuously...

Published 6 Jan 2009 12:20 by Chemicals & The Economy

Filed under: Economic growth, Oil markets, Japan, Financial Events, credit crunch, Leverage, auto sales, Toyota, Chrysler, GM, Ford

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