Economists might like to believe that inflation is somehow a monetary phenomenon. But as we are all likely to learn to our cost over the winter, food and energy prices are critical for most people. Oil prices are already rising. And food prices are joining them.
Chemicals and the Economy
Food costs and interest rates rise as energy and fertilizer supplies are hit by the invasion
It’s going to be a very difficult winter. Most of the world will be impacted as Europe bids up energy/food prices to keep its people warm and fed. And it would never have happened if policymakers had recognised the importance of geopolitics, energy markets and demographics.
Energy market chaos highlights risks to the global economy, as US consumer sentiment hits all-time lows
Consumer sentiment is already at all-time lows. Rising energy, transport and food prices will likely soon push inflation above 10%, and interest/mortgage rates to 5%+, adding to the risk of a major and long-lasting downturn.
Syngenta aims to gow more food with less fertiliser, pesticides
One of the key chapters in ‘Boom, Gloom and the New Normal’ is titled ‘Doing More with Less’. It argues that the key need is to be practical. Companies should focus: In the fields of water/food, on reducing the amount of waste, and the output that is lost when product is moving to market In developing […]
Markets in wait-and-see mode as holiday season arrives
Markets have moved into summer holiday mode in recent weeks whilst they wait for a new direction, as the chart shows. It is therefore timely to look back over developments since the start of the year: The S&P 500 (purple) has been the clear winner, up 15%. The key to its out-performance has been the central […]
Water, Food and Ageing top global societal risks
The latest Global Risks report from the World Economic Forum warns that its highlighted “societal risks all have a relatively high likelihood of occurring in the next 10 years”. As the chart above shows, the top 3 risks are those also highlighted in ‘Boom, Gloom and the New Normal’: • Water supply crises are the […]
China’s slowdown continues
Today’s purchasing manager index shows China’s manufacturing is now contracting across the country. As always, petchem markets have been leading indicators of this slowdown. And worrying, China’s polyethylene (PE) markets are showing no sign of any improvement as we head to year-end. Volume grew 53% between 2008 – 2010 as a result of the government’s […]
1 in 4 US children on food stamp aid
Wall Street may be paying out $bns in bonuses. But in the rest of the USA, rising unemployment and foreclosure are having a major impact. In a new analysis, the New York Times reveals that the Federal food stamp programme “now helps feed one in eight Americans and one in four children“. Renamed the Supplemental […]
The blog’s first birthday
Its now a year since the blog started. Since then, 213 postings have appeared. It is now read in 72 countries and 620 cities (shown above). Most encouragingly, readership continues to steadily increase. Since January, it has risen a further 301%. The blog’s aim is to identify ‘the influences that may shape the chemical industry […]
‘Sometimes those questions lead to war’
The weekend’s finance minister meeting in Washington DC seems to have been quite different from its predecessors. Not only did they apparently have an ‘informal brainstorming session’ at one point, but they also found themselves confronted with two major and on-going crises: • We have to ‘put food into hungry mouths’ commented Bob Zoellick, President […]
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