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Chemicals and the Economy

V-shaped sellers meet L-shaped buyers

Picture: www.businessoffashion.com A senior figure in the investment community told the blog recently that companies’ views on the outlook for the economy seemed to vary according to their own financial position: “the stronger the balance sheet, the more realistic (and worse) the view on the economy”. This analysis was confirmed at an interesting M&A Round […]

Difficult decisions loom on future US auto demand

By the end of May last year, 6.2m autos had been sold in the US market, each containing $2700 of chemicals (according to the ACC). The total sales value to the chemical industry was $16.8bn. So far this year, just 3.9m autos have been sold, with a value of $10.7bn. Recent downturns have always seen […]

Chrysler bankruptcy to last years, not months

More details are now emerging of the US government’s plans for Chrysler. Initially President Obama said he hoped the bankruptcy process would only last 60 days. But according to Bloomberg, the administration now accepts that this period will just cover the “sale of Chrysler’s best assets” to Fiat. Suppliers, including those in the chemical industry, […]

Chrysler’s bankruptcy marks dawn of new reality

The International eChem team are very experienced in turnarounds and restructurings. We have undertaken these both as employees within our former companies, and then as advisers. This has taught us to be alert for the ‘tipping point’, when a situation begins to change, for better or worse. The blog believes the Chrysler bankruptcy is one […]

GM bankruptcy threatens auto supply chain

It seems highly likely that GM, the largest US car manufacturer, will enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the next few weeks. Chrysler, the 4th largest US company, may well follow them. Even if it avoids bankruptcy, GM’s own restructuring plan has the potential to be equally traumatic. It is based on a forecast US […]

GM plans 2 month summer shutdown

The prospect of bankruptcy is finally sharpening the knife at GM. As the blog noted last month, inventories are at astronomical levels. 781000 vehicles were in stock at the end of February, and this figure had only dropped by 15000 vehicles during March to 765000 vehicles. This equates to around 6 months supply. Now the […]

Auto suppliers face difficult time as bankruptcies rise

The decline in auto sales is now threatening many industry suppliers around the world: • Today, the main Japanese car parts group has warned that “Toyota’s production cuts will cause bankruptcies among suppliers if the government restricts aid to large manufacturers”. • Last month, the main US associations requested $18.5bn in support from the Obama […]

Bank shares drop on LyondellBasell exposure

The fallout from the Lyondell bankruptcy continues to grow. One analyst has suggested Swiss bank UBS has exposure of $500m – $1.5bn. Other banks, including Citi and the UK’s RBS, also have large exposures. Writing-off these debts will in turn reduce the banks’ own capital. And so it will further reduce overall credit availability. Meanwhile […]

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