By Malini Hariharan (Malini is now joint blogger for Asian Chemical Connections) Japanese chemical majors have raised their sales and profit forecasts for the second half of the fiscal year ending 31 March 2010, but the revisions are marginal and companies are still holding a conservative outlook. Earnings in the first half of this fiscal […]
Asian Chemical Connections
More Muddle And Confusion
By John Richardson Manufacturers yesterday reported rising output and improved employment prospects in the US, Europe and Asia. China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), involving a survey of more than 700 manufacturers, increased for the eighth straight month in a row – and is now back to where it was in May 2008. This is exactly […]
All’s well in South Korea – for now
By Malini Hariharan (Malini is now joint blogger for Asian Chemical Connections) South Korean petchem majors are expected to post another quarter of bumper earnings thanks to high operating rates and strong sales volumes. A Seoul-based equity research analyst think this year could well turn out to be a bonus. He expects the fourth quarter […]
China Export Gains Raise Sustainability Fears
Source of picture: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23512037/ CHINA is making export gains at the expense of other higher-cost competitors that might not be sustainable because of reasons including rising trade protectionism and economic rebalancing. Chemical companies need to factor in this risk – and take into account how overall demand might merely be shifting location […]
Should Indonesia Add Capacity?
Source of picture: wartakota.co.id WESTERNERS can often by unbelievably patronising about Asia’s efforts to climb up the economic self-sufficiency ladder. “South Korea has no business being in petrochemicals,” said a very annoying US industry executive many years ago – one of those situations where your correspondent wanted to punch someone’s lights […]
How ridiculous does ridiculous have to get?
“YES, I HEAR YOU – I’M LISTENING….” Source of picture: New York Daily News How ridiculous does crude-oil pricing have to become before regulatory reforms occur that limit the role of financial speculation in a helpful way? This was the question being asked by a refining industry source today after he had read this […]
The Iranian investment struggle
Source of picture: www.textually.org The political sensitivity surrounding Iran is so great that US-based companies are not even allowed to attend presentations by Iranian officials at conferences, a source said. “I witnessed a recent walk-out during a presentation by the National Iranian Oil & Distribution Company (NIODC),” he said. But a European office […]
Don’t count on Thai project delays
I have been digging a little deeper into the Map Ta Phut issue and it looks like expectations of major delays to projects at the site were a little premature. Construction has not stopped despite a ruling by Thailand’s Central Administrative Court to stop work on 76 projects at the site. The ruling was directed […]
Wearing blinkers is a job requirement
“Take it from me, peripheral vision isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, especially if you want to get a decent annual bonus….” Source of picture: www.whipnspurs.co.nz Here’s a rant for Tuesday – with thanks to Paul Hodges for informing some of the thinking (I’d like to lay credit to certain parts of this…) Purchasing […]
Beware of the usual smoke and mirrors
Flying the flag for Q3… Source of picture: etftrends.com Yes, Q3 earnings season is almost upon us with the usual headline-grabbing improvements in carefully selected reported numbers. What this season might tell us about the overall direction of everything is, to start the week on yet another pessimistic note, hardly uplifting. John Authers is once […]
Jump to page: