On A Very Sticky Wicket www.theage.com.au By John Richardson As one my colleagues said – it’s a good job the US stock markets were closed for Thanksgiving. Lots of efforts are being made to talk the Dubai World crisis and down – and despite drops in Middle East market equities – Asian markets rallied […]
Asian Chemical Connections
Crude, Demand Destruction & Irresponsible Bankers
Source of picture: www.walletpop.com By John Richardson In his own words Paul Hodges of International e-Chem – and also a fellow blogger – puts in a nutshell some of the dangers confronting the chemicals industry as we approach the New Year, with a few interspersed further thoughts from this blog: “If crude […]
US Dollar Carry Trade Threat To Chemicals
Stay cool and don’t panic! Source of picture: www.wired.com By John Richardson THE growth of the carry trade US dollars – leading to a sharp depreciation of the greenback and possibly of many other unintended consequences – represents a major threat to the chemicals industry in 2010. Any corporate planner with her or […]
For Hands That Don’t Want To Do Dishes
Buy now, pay later…. Source: www.examiner.com Note: There is a special prize for the first blog reader who can explain the above headline. In the 2001 recession, US consumer spending slowed but did not fall, and picked up again very quickly. In the early 1990s, it dipped a bit but returned to pre-recession […]
Some Very Crude Perceptions
Source of picture: www.prisonplanet.com Misleading perceptions can be very dangerous – especially when they apply to the crude-oil futures markets. “The price has more than doubled this year partly because of the belief that the recovery in Chinese oil-import demand is all about booming local consumption” said a source on the sidelines of […]
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 […]
To Cut Rates Or Not To Cut…
A Famous Ditherer Source of picture: sarafinewordpress.com Chasing higher oil prices and/or a response to the now long-running recovery in Chinese demand that’s become sustainable? Not wanting to sound too much like the start of a famous Shakespeare soliloquy, these are the questions that should be wracking everyone’s brains as they try to figure […]
More evidence of China’s export rebound
Source of picture: Businesweek More evidence is emerging of the big rebound in Chinese exports resulting from government subsidies, including a Yuan now pegged to the dollar, soft and plentiful bank loans and export-tax rebates. More than 9,000 quality control inspections of goods set for overseas shipment took place in Q3 this year – […]
A fresh vote of confidence for the DCE
By Malini Hariharan (Malini is now joint blogger for Asian Chemical Connections) It helps to have a commodity bull on your side and that’s just what the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) has succeeded in doing. Jim Rogers, the noted investment guru, will be a senior advisor to the exchange. Jim Rogers is, as always, positive […]
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 […]
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