The number “42” was the answer to “the ultimate question of life” in the classic novel ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe’. Yet as the supercomputer providing this answer then explained, it was a pointless exercise as nobody understood the meaning of the original question. The world’s policymakers are in the same position, although they don’t yet realise this. They […]
Chemicals and the Economy
Japan’s debt now $80k for every man, woman and child
Question: Why will Starbucks reduce the menu price for its venti green-tea frappucino in Japan next Tuesday, when the price is actually going up? Answer: Because the government hopes the lower menu price will fool people into thinking the price has gone down It is, of course, a nonsense. And no doubt most Japanese will be quite annoyed that […]
China’s struggle for a new economy
“To most outsiders the language of official declarations is mind-numbing. Yet, having listened to Premier Li Keqiang and vice-premier Zhang Gaoli, I found (their plans) at least analytically convincing. They clearly recognise the need for decisive action in response to the challenges faced. What they want to do also makes good sense both on economic […]
US ethylene boom is a dangerous game
The blog continues to lose sleep at night worrying about the likely impact of the planned 10MT expansions of US ethylene and derivative capacity. And it seems it is not the only one. Since it first raised the alarm last August, it has talked to a number of senior industry executives and investors who also cannot […]
Demographics drive demand and fertility rates have fallen
A major debate is underway in Eurozone financial markets about the imminent approach of deflation. As the chart above shows, Eurozone inflation has ben falling steadily for the past 2 years. Yet most still fail to recognise that today’s demographics make this development more or less inevitable. The Financial Times has kindly printed the blog’s […]
China’s electricity consumption shows growth at 4.5% and slowing
There’s a lot of wishful thinking underway about China’s future growth. All the experts who told us that its growth was ‘inevitable’ and would never end, are now having to face the issue that clearly growth is now slowing fast. Their response, of course, is to remain in Denial mode. They imagine that a magic […]
Cotton prices slip as US supply rises and China’s imports fall
It seems that cotton prices are about to return to normal levels again. The blog’s detailed discussion of the issues last September highlighted how current Chinese government policies seemed doomed to fail, at enormous cost to the wider world. It now looks as though China’s new leadership agrees with this conclusion. Since late 2008, the previous leadership’s […]
Ethylene prices have 96% correlation to oil prices
Companies are about to review their Q1 performance, and re-forecast profit and revenue for the rest of the year. Most will be disappointed with results so far, as the long-promised economic recovery has again failed to appear. This will be no surprise to blog readers. But there is another and connected issue for Management Teams to worry […]
China’s lending problems begin to worry wider world – too late
Suddenly, people are starting to talk about China and the risks it creates for the global economy. There is a lifecycle to the way that such issues develop in the general consciousness, as John Mauldin has observed. And so this development suggests that we are now well along the process, as highlighted in the chart above: […]
Oil markets pressured by copper price falls
Whisper it quietly to your friends in the oil business. But oil prices are looking very vulnerable. Producers and the central banks have done a great job in creating the myth of imminent shortages – these have always been ‘just about to happen’ as a result of supply disruptions or the long-promised recovery in global […]
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