By John Richardson WHEN is over-investment a good thing? This was another question the blog was left pondering after a good conversation with a Beijing-based training delegate during ICIS Training’s recent China Seminar in Bangkok. She made the point that China builds roads, bridges and railways, which ends up “seeding” or developing demand in less-developed […]
Asian Chemical Connections
The WTO “Bali” Deal Versus ASEAN Priorities
By John Richardson WHY sacrifice national or regional growth for the sake of freer global trade? This is a question the blog has been asking itself since the breakthrough last week at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks in Bali. This follows our earlier thoughts on how regional trading blocs may become much more significant. […]
China: Building The Bear (Or Realistic?) Case For 2014
By John Richardson The above slide, compiled from Global Trade Information Services data by fellow blogger Paul Hodges, is further evidence of the tremendous year that polyethylene (PE) has enjoyed in China so far this year. We think that PE is a pretty good proxy for other polymers and chemicals and so parallels could well […]
The Perils Of An Even Weaker Yen
By John Richardson YOU cannot turn 65-year-olds into 35-year-olds, no matter how much central bank stimulus you throw at the problem. This is why the real, underlying problem with Japan is its demographics which make all the current attempts to stimulate its way to stronger local growth pretty much futile. If there are not enough […]
Jokes Don’t Keep You Healthy
By John Richardson “I FEEL like I’m living in clouds of smog,” Zheng Qiaoyun, a Shanghai resident who kept her 6-month-old son at home told the UK’s Guardian newspaper. “I have a headache, I’m coughing, and it’s hard to breathe on my way to my office.” The reason was another pollution scare in China, this […]
Rest In Peace, Nelson Mandela
By John Richardson He got it, he understood it and in a fractious, self-interested world his self-sacrifice for his nation, his forgiveness for people who were once his enemies, was amazing after 27 years in prison. If many of the rest of us were wrongfully imprisoned for one day, we might well struggle to forgive […]
Chemicals Companies Risk Losing Market Muscle
By John Richardson IT used to be so easy. All you had to do was build a feedstock-advantage plant outside China and/or build a plant in China and demand would take care of itself. The reason was that China was on a roll from 2001 onwards thanks to its accession to the World Trade Organisation, […]
Credit Tightening The Key For China In 2014
By John Richardson WE have been on a magical mystery tour during the second of half 2013 in an effort to discover what has really driven the 14% year-on-year increase in polyethylene (PE) apparent demand in China in January-August – the latest data that is available to us. Apparent demand is imports plus domestic production. […]
The Trickle-Down Effect….Again
By John Richardson THE classic image of the high-school student flipping Big Macs has become out of date in the US, according to this New York Times article. “Because of lingering unemployment and a relative abundance of fast-food jobs, older workers are increasingly entering the industry ,” adds the NYT. “These days, according to the […]
German Politicians Head In The Wrong Direction
By John Richardson IT took Germany’s politicians five weeks, including a final marathon 17-hour negotiating session, to agree on a “grand coalition”, points out The Economist in this article. The trouble is that, despite this massive expenditure of hot air the deal to form a government, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel (see left), appears likely […]
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