Denmark, and the West, wake up to a lack of babies
“We have for many years addressed the very important issues of how to avoid becoming pregnant, how to avoid sexual diseases, how kids have a right to their own bodies, but we totally…
Global auto sales reach ‘top of the mountain’ moment
The best view is always from the top of the mountain. And that seems where we are today in global auto markets. They are on track for another record year. And even better…
China sees $13.5bn of fake September ‘collateral trade’ invoices
China’s ‘collateral trade’ is still a major force in world markets for iron ore, copper and even plastics such as polyethylene. September’s data suggests $13.5bn of fake invoices added 56% to the…
China becomes major PVC, PTA exporter for first time in history
Be very careful what you wish for. That is the key message coming out of close analysis of China’s latest trade data. Recent media reports were upbeat at news that China’s exports had increased, as it…
“BASF slashes 2015 targets on slowing global growth”
“BASF, the world’s biggest chemical maker by sales, has slashed its revenue and earnings targets for 2015, following a further weakening of the European economy and a slowdown in China.” Saturday’s Financial…
3D printing to move manufacturing closer to the customer
15 years ago, it was fashionable to dismiss eBusiness as a fairy story. I remember those days well, as I had just raised $25m from major companies to fund its development in the chemical industry. Today,…
Grangemouth develops cluster-based vision for the future
Exactly a year ago this week, the INEOS petrochemical business at Grangemouth in Scotland was facing closure. This would have been a disaster for the thousands of people employed directly and indirectly, as…
Shell CEO says Europe needs to leverage chemicals clusters
There are 2 ways to improve operating rates in an industry. One is to increase volumes, the other is to reduce capacity. The latest APPE data covering H1 2014 for European olefin capacity highlights…
The Great Unwinding of policymaker stimulus is under way
The blog’s latest post for the Financial Times, published on the BeyondBrics blog is below.Oct 20, 2014 10:48am By Paul Hodges of International eChem Two months ago, very few people believed that markets…