Time was when US auto sales only rarely dipped below 1.1 million/month. Since the Great Recession began, however, they have only rarely been above this level. Analysts are yet to take this change on board. So June’s 1.05 million figure (red square) was described as a ‘surprise’. Yet as the chart shows, most months this […]
Chemicals and the Economy
Selling the Rallies
There was a sustained rise in the number of wealthy Western BabyBoomers entering their peak consumption years between 1980-2000. In turn, stock market multiples rose (the US Dow Jones price/earnings ratio rose from 8 to 32), as investors valued earnings more highly. ‘Buying the Dips’ in the market became the easy way to make money. […]
Downturn Alert shows markets weakened in Q2
The last week of a half-year period often sees greater volatility in financial markets, as players rush to position themselves for client reporting. This was most obvious in stock markets, with the US S&P 500 Index (pink dotted line) staging a 5% rally during the week. Brent crude oil (blue dash) eventually ended unchanged versus […]
The blog’s 4th birthday
The blog is now 4 years old. Its readership continues to expand around the world. It is read in 137 countries and 5379 cities, as shown on the above map. Readers are also incredibly loyal. Over the past year, 39% have visited the blog at least once a week. This is up from 34% in […]
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