Today’s economic situation is getting worse, not better. The blog believes this is because most policymakers still refuse to accept the wisdom contained in the Beatles’ ‘When I’m Sixty-Four’ song on their iconic Sgt Pepper album. The Western BabyBoomers (those born between 1946-70) are the largest and richest generation that the world has ever seen. […]
Chemicals and the Economy
‘Computers say buy….sell….buy….sell…’
Petchem markets are continuing to act as leading indicators for the global economy. The IeC Downturn Alert shows there was no September rebound in orders after the holiday period. October will have to bring a sudden, and powerful reversal of the downward trend. Otherwise Q4 could be very difficult indeed. Benzene, the blog’s favourite market […]
Boom/Gloom Index confirms the downturn
The IeC Boom/Gloom Index seems to have done its job. It was launched in June 2009, as a way of reflecting the extremely positive sentiment then building in financial markets. And as the chart shows, it remained bullish until July (blue column). Since then it has plunged back to the low levels seen between Q4 […]
US housing starts fall as the BabyBoomers get older
US subprime lending was the starting point for the economic crisis now spreading around the world. The blog believes a key cause was policymakers refusal to accept that the ageing of the BabyBoomers (those born between 1946-70) would cause a major change in demand patterns. Instead, they have continued to believe that underlying levels of […]
Tesco says ‘Today is the New Normal’
The world’s leading retailers have been extremely reliable leading indicators for the chemical industry, since the Great Recession began. They were the first, back in July 2007, to highlight the major changes underway in consumer markets. Tesco, the world’s 3rd largest retailer, warned then that they were changing their focus away from more affluent shoppers […]
US, China, EU auto sales stall
Auto sales in the world’s 3 main markets (China, USA, EU), saw much slower growth in the past 3 months. The chart above shows how they have moved in 2011 (red square) versus previous years. It is clear that the stimulus-led boom seen since 2009 has come to an end: • Overall, sales in the […]
When I’m 64
Will you still need me? Will you still feed me? The Beatles asked the right questions back in 1967, when singing ‘When I’m Sixty-Four’ on their iconic Sergeant Pepper album. What would happen to the Western BabyBoomers when they became 64? Would they be about to die, as had previous generations? Or would their future […]
Time for leadership at EPCA
The chemical industry has a turnover of $3.4trn, and is the world’s 3rd largest industry. It matters to the global economy. Many of its leaders are about to meet next weekend in Berlin for the annual European Petrochemical Association (EPCA) meeting. The blog strongly believes that this should not be seen as a ‘business as […]
Low Western pensions will change demand patterns
Next week, the blog publishes Chapter 5 of its ‘Boom, Gloom and the New Normal’ eBook, co-authored with John Richardson. This looks in detail at the major changes taking place in demand patterns as the BabyBoomers (those born between 1956-70) enter the 55+ age group. This cohort already includes 272 million people, 29% of the […]
‘Peak oil’ a theory, not a statement of fact
Oil supply is critical to today’s global economy. Now a new book by oil expert Daniel Yergin, author of ‘The Prize’, suggests that the outlook may be more promising than most believe. Pessimists such as Marion King Hubbert have argued that the world is running out of oil. Hubbert, for example, gave his name to […]
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