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August highlights

Many readers have been out of the office during August on a well-deserved break. I am therefore highlighting below the main postings over the past month, in the hope this will help them to catch up quickly on key developments - please click on the highlighted title if you want to read the original posting...

Posted to ICIS Blogs (Weblog) by Anonymous on 09-01-2008
A sombre outlook

Housing is a vital market for chemical companies. It boomed in the US and other Western countries as credit standards were relaxed between 2003-7. Now it is at the centre of the credit crunch. Martin Feldstein, Harvard economics professor, and the man who chairs the Board that determines the duration...

Posted to ICIS Blogs (Weblog) by Anonymous on 08-27-2008
The 'slow motion train wreck' continues

A year ago, the noted investment analyst, Jeremy Grantham, described the credit crisis as a 'slow motion train wreck'. The Financial Times has now updated the metaphor to describe what has happened since. It notes that train crashes happen more quickly than economic ones, and that there are pauses...

Posted to ICIS Blogs (Weblog) by Anonymous on 08-19-2008
BASF reduce 2008 global GDP forecast

BASF have now reduced their 2008 GDP forecast from 2.8% to 2.4%. This may sound a small amount, but it means it is now in line with the Global Downturn Scenario set out in our Feedstocks for Profit Study. Previously, it had been just below our Base Case Scenario. CEO Jurgen Hambrecht still sounds confident...

Posted to ICIS Blogs (Weblog) by Anonymous on 08-19-2008
The 'difficult task of damage control'

The central bankers' bank (the Bank for International Settlements) is not very impressed with its members' efforts over the past year. Readers may remember that its Report last year explicitly warned of the problems that were about to occur in world financial markets. This year's Report expresses...

Posted to ICIS Blogs (Weblog) by Anonymous on 07-08-2008
The blog's first birthday

Its now a year since the blog started. Since then, 213 postings have appeared. It is now read in 72 countries and 620 cities (shown above). Most encouragingly, readership continues to steadily increase. Since January, it has risen a further 301%. The blog's aim is to identify 'the influences...

Posted to ICIS Blogs (Weblog) by Anonymous on 07-05-2008
High inflation, or global downturn?

Central bankers had it easy over the past decade. Now they are going to have to earn their money. Inflation is rising rapidly, and growth rates are falling. But unfortunately, as I first noted back in March , they still seem to have differing ideas about what policies will best counter these twin challenges...

Posted to ICIS Blogs (Weblog) by Anonymous on 06-08-2008
Dow raises prices by up to 20%

Dow today announced that it is raising prices for 'all of its products by up to 20 percent - depending on their exposure to rising energy, feedstock and transportation costs - and will review all terms to all customers'. Dow CEO, Andrew Liveris, said that Dow's 'first quarter feedstock...

Posted to ICIS Blogs (Weblog) by Anonymous on 05-28-2008
OPEC suggests $200/bbl oil

OPEC used to believe that its fortunes were tied to the health of the global economy. But as I noted last month , its current policy is more reminiscent of ‘the difficult times of 1973/4 and 1989.80’. The evidence for this statement is mounting. Saudi Oil Minister, Ali Naimi, said recently that the Kingdom...

Posted to ICIS Blogs (Weblog) by Anonymous on 04-30-2008
‘Longer, deeper, wider’

Singapore is one of the global economic success stories of recent decades. Its sovereign wealth fund, GIC, is one of the world’s largest fund management companies, with assets of over $100bn. And GIC has already been active during the early stages of the credit crunch, investing $18bn since December...

Posted to ICIS Blogs (Weblog) by Anonymous on 04-21-2008

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