Americas top stories: weekly summary

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 3 November:

LyondellBasell approaches Brazil Braskem about takeover – report
LyondellBasell approached Brazilian polyolefins producer Braskem about a possible takeover, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Analyst lays out case for LyondellBasell buying Braskem
An analyst made on Monday a case why Braskem would be an attractive acquisition target for LyondellBasell, arguing that the share price of the Brazilian producer trades at a discount to its peers.

US Oct propylene settles at 1.5 cent/lb increase amid still disrupted market
US October propylene contracts have settled at a 1.5 cent/lb increase by most market participants, although a producer did not settle its contracts at that level, market sources said on Monday.

Clariant dodges breakup fees in scrapped Huntsman merger
The cancellation of merger plans between Clariant and Huntsman in the face of opposition from an activist investor means that the Switzerland-headquartered company is unlikely to be called on to pay millions in breakup fees, according to CFO Patrick Jany.

Brazil Braskem says LyondellBasell did not approach it about takeover
Braskem said on Tuesday that it was not approached by LyondellBasell about any proposal to acquire its shares.

US benzene contracts for Nov settle higher on supply limitations
US benzene contracts for November settled 10-12 cents/gal higher than the October settlement on Tuesday.

US November BD contracts fully settle down 13%
US November butadiene (BD) contracts fully settled down 13%, sources confirmed on Wednesday.

US October ethylene contracts settle down 0.5 cent/lb
US October ethylene contracts have settled at a decrease of 0.5 cent/lb, market sources said on Wednesday.

US Enterprise’s PDH unit to produce first propylene this month
Enterprise Products’ long-delayed propane dehydrogenation (PDH) facility at the Mont Belvieu natural gas liquids (NGL) hub near Houston is expected to produce its first polymer grade propylene this month, the CEO of the US midstream energy and petrochemicals company said on Thursday.

US DowDuPont may need more time to spin off companies
US-based DowDuPont may need more time to complete its plan to spin off its three businesses, the CEO said on Thursday.

North America Q4 TiO2 prices higher on tight supply
North American titanium dioxide (TiO2) contract prices for the fourth-quarter increased on Friday on tight supply and unseasonably healthy demand.