Car sales in Japan, Russia, Brazil and India currently account for just under 1 in 5 of global sales. Their market share peaked at 21% in 2008, but is today back at 2005’s level of 17%. As the chart shows, it has been a roller-coaster ride for all of them: Japan’s 4.7m sales were 10% of the global total […]
Chemicals and the Economy
Unilever says Q2 market growth slows in emerging countries, developed countries weak
The global economy really isn’t getting any better. That’s the key conclusion from the blog’s quarterly survey of company results for Q2. Of course, some companies are doing well – either because of shale gas economics, or their own market positioning. But consumer giant Unilever summarised the general picture very well: “Market growth continued to slow in emerging […]
Oil prices break out of their triangle – downwards
The Great Unwinding of the central banks stimulus policies is underway, as discussed last week. Oil markets have been one of the first to feel the change, as the chart shows, with prices finally falling out of the ‘triangle’ shape built up since 2008. The value of the US$, interest rates and the S&P 500 […]
A personal WW1 centenary – the Battle of Le Cateau
100 years ago today, the blog’s grandfather went into action for the first time in World War 1, at the Battle of Le Cateau. A regular soldier, his Battalion had landed in France on 22 August 1914, and had then marched for 3 days from the Channel ports as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) . […]
US retail sales hit by declines in income and household wealth
US retail sales tell a sorry story about the state of underlying demand. US sales at Wal-Mart, the world’s largest store chain, have failed to grow for 6 consecutive quarters, with shopper traffic falling 1.1% in Q2. The company’s explanation for the problems is worth pondering by anyone in business: It is facing intense competition […]
China economic rebalancing will take at least 10 years
We must all hope that new economic policies now being implemented in China are successful. The alternative, of a debt implosion, is too awful to contemplate. But as China’s state-owned media continually remind us, the transition is likely to prove extremely difficult. An important interview with the deputy head of the National Economic Research Institute, Wang […]
2 dates for the diary
Last May’s China Transformation webinar with John Richardson attracted great interest. We are therefore arranging a free follow-up webinar on Tuesday 9 September. As before, it will be run twice, to allow blog readers in different regions to attend. This ‘China Economic Transformation II’ webinar will cover these key areas: The likely impact on global markets of the […]
US fracking demand creates price volatility for hydrochloric acid
Fracking has completely changed the outlook for US natural gas supplies, as the above chart from the latest Energy Information Agency 2014 annual report shows: It forecasts a 56% increase in total natural gas production from 2012 to 2040 This is largely due to growth in shale gas (green) and tight gas (brown) Shale gas output […]
Modi highlights toilets in India’s Independence Day speech
The Indian Prime Minister’s address on Independence Day is the major event of the political year, equal to the US President’s ‘State of the Union’ speech. It was particularly important this year as India has a new reforming prime minister in Narendra Modi. It it is thus hugely significant that top of his agenda was opening up the country […]
The Great Unwinding of policymaker stimulus has begun
Large economies are like supertankers. There are no brakes to use if you want to change direction in a hurry. Instead, you have to put the engine into reverse, and hope you can slow down fast enough to avoid the rocks. That is what happened in China last month, as the new leadership began to […]
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