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Chemicals and the Economy

Oil prices start to reconnect with coal and gas

Oil prices are finally starting to reconnect with other fossil fuel prices, as the chart shows.  It compares US WTI prices in terms of $/MMBtu value (WTI/5.8), versus US natural gas and coal prices: In January 1990, WTI was $3.94 versus natgas at $2.30 and coal at $1.45 (all $/MMBtu) In January 2000, WTI was […]

12 million missing workers highlight US GDP slowdown

Employment income is critical for most Americans and for the US economy.  The above chart shows how the key factor – the participation rate – has changed since records began in 1948.  It shows July data, to avoid the need for seasonal adjustment, split by Men, Women and Total: □  Last month’s Total rate was 63.4%, versus the […]

13m missing American workers highlight economic slowdown

There’s something very wrong with the US jobs market, as the slide above confirms.  Commentators professed to be surprised by the disappointing May report last Friday, but its hard to know why: The overall participation rate has been in decline since July 1997, when it reached 68%: today it is only 62.7% Male participation is at […]

UK’s ageing population causes earnings to decline

The UK economy appears to be recovering well from the financial crisis.  But appearances can be deceptive. Certainly employment has risen for both men and women since 2009, and the jobless rate has fallen.  But new data yesterday from the Office for National Statistics highlights how, despite these achievements, total incomes have been falling in real […]

US jobs growth fails to keep pace with population growth

The US population reached 320m this year, an 11.35m increase versus 2010, according to the US Census Bureau: “The U.S. is expected to experience a birth every 8 seconds and one death every 12 seconds, whilst net international migration is expected to add one person to the U.S. population every 33 seconds.  All these factors […]

US jobs growth stalls as shale gas bubble ends

Apparently Friday’s US jobs numbers disappointed the experts.  The consensus forecast was that 250k jobs would have been created in March – yet only half the forecast actually appeared.  Even more tellingly, hiring estimates for January/February were revised down.  Separate data also showed weak growth in wages and spending. None of this was really a surprise, […]

US economic recovery at risk as energy bubble bursts

The bursting of the US energy bubble is looking more and more like a replay of the sub-prime bubble in 2008. As investor Warren Buffett has noted, “its only when the tide goes out, that you learn who has been swimming naked .”  And nearly a year ago, former central banker William White warned the problems in the global economy were: “Worse […]

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