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| 01-02-2009 | Commodities |
As oil prices fall further, the list of beleaguered oil and natural gas companies vulnerable to take-over is growing. Ernst & Young’s Energy Centre says this signals the beginning of a new wave of consolidation. It expects oil and gas transaction activity to rebound as early as December 2009. Big companies seem more likely to go for acqu... More »Low oil prices to spur takeovers |
| 26-01-2009 | Commodities |
Moody's, the global ratings agency, is forecasting a 70 per cent chance of a U-shaped recession, and a 15 per cent chance of either a V or L-shaped downturn. Moody's also singles out the chemical industry as being one of those most at risk from a lengthy downturn. It highlights two key risks — higher crude oil prices and a major downt... More »Testing times ahead for petrochemicals |
| 18-01-2009 | Commodities |
Cocoa prices surged to a 23-year high in 2008 as speculative investors poured monies into the market amid concerns about dwindling supplies from Ivory Coast, the world’s largest producer. Prices for cocoa rose 70 per cent in 2008 , bucking the weakness in overall commodities prices. In its monthly report, the International Cocoa Organi-satio... More »Cocoa consumption likely to decline |
| 21-12-2008 | Commodities |
The sharp erosion in oil prices has come in spite of a signal from King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, that he wanted oil prices back at $75 a barrel. According to Olivier Jakob of Swiss oil consultancy Petromatrix, the king's comments marked a significant departure from the previously held line that the price o... More »Crude price crash and the attributes |
| 07-12-2008 | Commodities |
Wide cracks are beginning to appear in the refiners’ profit margins, known in the oil industry as “crack spreads”. Of late, demand for fuel has been hit by weak consumer spending and slump in automobile sales. The US gasoline crack spread — the difference between benchmark crude oil price and wholesale petrol prices — ... More »Refiners’ profit margins under strain |
| 30-11-2008 | Commodities |
There’s an old saying on Wall Street : The economy is topped with a copper roof. The saying itself does not make much sense, but it's meaning is legend on Wall Street. In 1946, manufacturing activity accounted for nearly half of America's gross national product. A key commodity used in the building of durable goods is copper. It’... More »Copper roof over world economy remains intact |
| 16-11-2008 | Commodities |
Now that Barrack Obama is the President-elect of the US, ethanol proponents will be happy. In one of his early speeches in 2004, the then Senator of Illinois — one of the biggest corn-producing states in the country — called on fellow legislators in Washington to do more to help the struggling ethanol industry, not only for “the f... More »Ethanol: Boom to Bust |
| 09-11-2008 | Commodities |
Writing in the journal Language & Communication, coffee historian Markman Ellis describes the London coffee houses of the 1700s as a place “built upon principles of friendly and discursive sociability”. Ellis describes groups of men hanging out, drinking coffee, reading, and engaging in energetic discussions about the topics of the... More »Global credit crisis hit coffee exporters hard |
| 26-10-2008 | Commodities |
The Baltic dry bulk index, which has a strong correlation with global trade activities and commodity prices, has corrected by a startling 86.2 per cent from a peak of 11,771 on May 21, 2008. The fall in the index is linked to the ongoing global credit crisis, slide in commodity prices and reduction in volume and activity of coal and iron ore import... More »Shipbuilders under strain as trade volumes decline |
| 19-10-2008 | Commodities |
IRSG (International Rubber Study Group) studies forecast global rubber production of 13.6 million tonnes (mt) by 2020, when consumption is expected to reach 13.1 mt. Replantation of rubber estates undertaken by various countries is likely to give a push to rubber production. India is expected to produce 918,000 tonnes of rubber in 2009-10, up from ... More »The elasticity of rubber economics |
| 12-10-2008 | Commodities |
Platinum prices have fallen nearly 20 per cent since peaking at $2,290 a troy ounce in March 2008. The metal, a key component in catalytic converters, sank below $1,000 recently to a three-year low. The slowdown in US car sales, 23 per cent lower last month compared with September 2007, has been dramatic and investors have reacted by selling holdin... More »Platinum, palladium may regain lost glory |
| 05-10-2008 | Commodities |
Commodity prices are heading for their biggest quarterly drop in 50 years. The Reuters-Jefferies CRB Index, a global benchmark of commodities prices, has fallen more than 23.5 per cent since June-end. Along with other commodities, aluminium, the metal used in jetliners, drink cans and foil wrap, has seen a price correction of late. Despite a correc... More »Better times ahead for aluminium |
| 21-09-2008 | Commodities |
Corn, wheat and soyabean prices have fallen heavily over the past six weeks. Corn prices are down 34.6 per cent to $5 a bushel after reaching a record $7.65 a bushel in late June this year, while soyabean prices are down 27.8 per cent to $12 a bushel after reaching an all-time high of $16.63 a bushel in early July 2008. Wheat prices have fallen 10.... More »Agricultural commodities to be in focus |
| 14-09-2008 | Commodities |
DEMAND-SUPPLY MISMATCH: Since 2002, steel has entered a cycle with substantial demand-supply disequilibrium. Global steel prices galloped to $1,134 a tonne in June 2008 from $691 in June 2007. Lakshmi Mittal of Arcelor Mittal believes that supply constraints and strong demand would put a firm floor under prices and profits for the steel indus... More »Steel boom set to end: Headwinds around the corner |
| 31-08-2008 | Commodities |
Michael Phelps, his outstanding achievement at the Beijing Olympics notwithstanding, will find the value of his eight gold medals decline. Gold prices, after hitting a record high of $1,030.80 an ounce in March 2008, had fallen back to just under $800, and have partially recovered since. If we look at a half-year timeframe, the drop in gold consump... More »Gold loses sheen, but still a safe bet |
