By John Richardson HOW long a recovery lasts is always relative to your investment horizons. For example, if you are a day trader in the Dalian Commodity Exchange’s futures contract in linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), a rebound might only need to last 24 hours for you to make money. And if you are trading in […]
Asian Chemical Connections
Commodity Stockpiles A Risky Bet
By John Richardson Inventories of copper, aluminium, lead and nickel have risen as prices for all these commodities have also surged, says this article in The Economist. Source of graph: The Economists Copper stocks total half a million tonnes in metals-exchanges warehouses in what HSBC analyst Andrew Keen describes as a market […]
Raining on the Optimists’ Parade
Source: The Guardian newspaper Apologies for letting this bog slip again. I am on leave, but still pondering where on earth we are heading. This makes a welcome relief from staring up at the grey skies and thinking “summer? What summer?” Yes, I am on leave in the UK and Wimbledon is about to start. […]
China’s economy: A case of wishful thinking?
Could the chemicals industry be in danger of wanting to believe something so much that ignores overwhelming evidence to the contrary? The widespread perception is that China’s economy has reached a turning point. “The worst of the crisis is over and the world is entering the time when things will gradually get better,” wrote former […]
If manufacturers started buying up their suppliers….
This excellent article from The Economist about vertical integration got me thinking that if, say, auto makers start buying up parts suppliers in developed markets (in developing markets the plastics processing industry is too fragmented) we could end up facing a whole new set of industry dynamics. Buying up your supplier, or at least offering […]
Is your company truly globalised?
Globalisation is an attitude of mind as what might now be a slightly descredited economic doctrine. Many companies are international but few – from talking to friends and contacts – are truly global in the sense that they recruit senior managers from all regions (not just the country in which their head office is located) […]
Changing nature of demand
green homes, the Economist, Peak Oil, speculators, changing demand growth
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