Bear Stearns, Dalian Commodity Exchange, bear-market rally, China speculation, ethane versus naphtha prices, International eChem
Asian Chemical Connections
US petchem exports to lessen the pain?
General Motors, Dalian Commodity Exchange, China self-sufficiency, US-Asia exports
Alice In Wonderland economics
China appears to be pumping money into ailing companies for social stability reasons, resulting in a build-up in inventory of unsold finished goods. Anecdotal evidence from ICIS pricing, and analysis by JP Morgan Asset Management and the China Economic Quarterly supports this view. Comparatively stronger exports to China, as my fellow blogger Paul Hodges points […]
Lack of visibility makes planning a nightmare
Is it just me or is sentiment in chemicals markets even more erratic than usual? Only two weeks ago people were talking about an imminent supply glut in polypropylene, but now the talk is of tightness and stable prices. Perhaps those with more time on their hands have more time to talk. This lack of […]
I don’t want to gloat but I told you so….
It looks like olefins and aromatics prices are on the retreat in Asia as I predicted earlier this month. I only feel slightly smug because it seems obvious that naphtha was a big driver – and that markets were being talked up by producers desperate to recover monumental Q4 losses. There will be lots more […]
Go to the bottom of the class and stay there
financial rescue package, financial meltdown, idiotic financiers, corporate greed
How to make money in a downturn Part 1
John Cusack, Kate Beckinsale, antidumping petitions, trade protection, living in cloud cuckoo land
Chem engineers back with avengeance
chemical engineers, financial meltdown, Nigel Davis, inventory management, H2 2009 recovery
The dead cat has bounced. Now what?
financial meltdown, LyondellBasell, pricing collapse, inventory management
The demise of private equity
private equity, Charles R Morris, Paul Krugman, the New York Times, Conscience Of A Liberal