Chemistry & the Economy: 2014 Year-End Review
Central banks have destroyed the price discovery mechanism in oil and chemical markets, and in financial markets, since the Crisis began in 2009:
- They pumped out $tns via Quantitative Easing (QE) programmes
- This created artificially high levels of demand via the development of ‘wealth effects’
- This has led companies to over-invest on the false assumption that demand growth was buoyant
Some people believe that we could soon move to a world of ‘QE Infinity’. But my own view is that a Great Unwinding of this policymaker stimulus is now underway.
One result of this, as we have seen since mid-August, is the collapse of oil prices and the dramatic rise in the value of the US$. H1 2015 may well see even greater impact: Japan and the Eurozone may well fall into deflation, whilst the global energy glut will impact US shale gas developments.
Join me to discuss these and other critical issues in my usual ‘Year-End Review’ for the American Chemical Society, moderated by Mark Jones of Dow Chemical.
The webinar takes place on Thursday @ 2pm – 3pm Eastern US Time
Free registration is at Chemistry & the Economy: 2014 Year-End Review