Last year it was Bitcoin, in 2016 it was the near-doubling in US 10-year interest rates, and in 2015 was the oil price fall. This year, once again, there is really only one candidate for ‘Chart of the Year’ – it has to be the collapse of China’s shadow banking bubble: It averaged around $20bn/month […]
Chemicals and the Economy
BASF’s second profit warning highlights scale of the downturn now underway
The chemical industry is easily the best leading indicator for the global economy. And thanks to Kevin Swift and his team at the American Chemistry Council, we already have data showing developments up to October, as the chart shows. It confirms that consensus hopes for a “synchronised global recovery” at the beginning of the year […]
Chemistry & the Economy: 2019 Outlook
There will be no shortage of important topics to discuss on Thursday, at my regular Chemistry and the Economy: 2019 Outlook webinar for the American Chemical Society. Please join me on Thursday @ 2pm – 3pm Eastern US Time for the webinar, which will be moderated as usual by Bill Carroll, former ACS Chair. Free […]
Brexit moves from ‘Snakes and Ladders’ to cricket
The Brexit debate had appeared to be a simple game of Snakes & Ladders till now. The Leave campaign landed on the ladders that led to its goal of No Deal, whilst the throw of the dice left Remain on the snakes, tumbling down towards irrelevance. Yet today, at the very last minute, there are […]
Jump to page: