tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109825252024-03-14T02:24:57.262+00:00An Insider writes about the vital, but often overlooked chemicals industryBiofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-42474086558363388132007-02-21T11:12:00.000+00:002007-02-21T11:13:54.555+00:00

If you're into the world of chemicals in Asia, then you might want to check out John Richardson's Asian Chemicals Connections blog...

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1159802509028269682006-10-02T16:20:00.000+01:002006-10-02T16:21:49.080+01:00

If you want to see what I'm now doing in biofuels follow this link

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1144077732993384482006-04-03T16:22:00.000+01:002006-04-03T16:22:13.056+01:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } solar low res, originally uploaded by Chemical Industry Insider. EuroChlor, the part of Cefic which represents the chlorine sector has decided it is going to tell the 40 000 people who live in Brussels, Belgium and work at

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1135853274418893282005-12-29T10:44:00.000+00:002005-12-29T10:47:54.433+00:00

HiI've been going on about podcasting lately, for a sample of what's on offer at ICIS radio click on the link below. It's an exclusive interview about how Europe’s chemical industry faces challenges from the Middle East and Asia. Is the continent is losing its competitiveness? Edouard Croufer, formerly UCB’s director general, a former president of Exxon Chemical Belgium/Holland and now with

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1131540386213035252005-11-09T12:32:00.000+00:002005-12-22T15:30:17.773+00:00

Hi there,I've been a little quiet on this blog for while. That's mostly because I'm now blogging with a bunch of other buiness journalists at Bizbuzzmedia.com. Which is where you can hear the World's first Chemical Industry Podcast: ICIS Radio. You can hear the show athttp://deputyedtiorecn.podomatic.comHere's the RSS feed for your podcatcherhttp://deputyedtiorecn.podOmatic.com/rss2.xmlYou can

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1126518838188743392005-09-12T10:53:00.000+01:002006-12-31T06:28:07.930+00:00

My worries about the effect on the US economy of Hurrican Katrina is further strengthened today by this story in today's Financial Times. It suggests that the uninsured losses in New Orleans coudl be between $65 billion and $85 billion.If you want to hear a webcast debate on the prospects check this out... Martin Wolf and Michael Lind answer your questions on the political and economic impact of

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1126263480099514142005-09-09T11:57:00.000+01:002005-09-09T11:58:00.100+01:00

The visa application is in, the Embassy was expecting me (thanks BASF) and I collect my entry ticket on Friday next week. We are off on 25 September.In addition to writing for European Chemical News, my main day job, I'll be filling for ICIS news, the online service that my employer operates and I'll be trying to blog. This rather assumes that jet lag works in my favour and I've got bursts of

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1126263291014129272005-09-09T11:54:00.000+01:002005-09-09T11:54:51.020+01:00

One question that will be important in the coming weeks and months is: how will Hurricane Katrina affect the mindset of indebted American consumers? These consumers have been spending more than they saved for many years and this has helped to drive the global economy along.Couple a relatively high level of debt and the high proportion of uninsured homes destroyed by the Hurricane and you have a

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1120641544010911802005-07-06T10:19:00.000+01:002005-07-06T10:22:06.426+01:00

Stock Market News and Investment Information Reuters.comThis story ran in the Times of India, given the difficulty that journalists there have had in untangling who's connected to whom in the attempts to buy Basell, this might be worth taking with a pinch of salt.Still, India is a country where things emerge in the press rather than are said publically by comapnies. Makes it hard to know what's

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1120567937710051832005-07-05T13:52:00.000+01:002005-07-05T13:53:58.336+01:00

FT.com / Home UK - The factory that has mastered the ageing challengeCould be worth checking this out. The chemical industry is suffering from a demographic challenge only slightly less serious than the one the Finnish lock company suffered in this article.Its one of a series. I'll try to remember to put up the links.

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1120227814529205642005-07-01T15:23:00.000+01:002005-07-01T15:26:26.653+01:00

Matti Vanhanen Finnish PM, originally uploaded by Chemical Industry Insider.In today's Chemical News and IntelligenceThe six-week long dispute between the Finnish paper workers’ union Pappersförbundet and employer organisation Finnish Forest Industries Federation ended Friday, and the first paper mills could restart this afternoon.The two parties settled their differences late Wednesday night,

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1120216369583946322005-07-01T12:10:00.000+01:002005-07-01T12:16:25.876+01:00

Effective 11:59pm EST June 30, 2005, INEOS entered the US/Canadian Polystyrene business through its acquisition of the BASF’s Joliet facility. The acquisition included at 14% market position, manufacture and distribution assets and 140 employees. The new business is called INEOS Styrenics.See also signs of maturity and signs of old age

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1119968276434819342005-06-28T15:04:00.000+01:002005-06-28T15:17:56.490+01:00

28 June 200515:04:09I came across this on a nearby farming blog the other day... it made me wonder what the fertliser/pesticide industry version would look like....http://www.storewars.org/flash/index.html

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1119602706848749442005-06-24T09:43:00.000+01:002005-11-29T16:41:55.963+00:00

24 June 2005 09:41:08The endgame for Basell begins... This was emailed at 9pm last night. Companies incorporated as Sarl in Luxembourg have limited reporting requirements. They need only one director, that can be a company or a person but who need not live in Luxemborg. Accounts must be filed, but they need not be audited. But they must have a deed of incorporation.Nell Acquisition S.a.r.l.

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1119545597081161272005-06-23T17:52:00.000+01:002006-08-09T10:51:02.330+01:00

The European Commission could be on the verge of doing three useful things: helping the environment, helping innovation and helping the petchem industry with feedstockWe have a situation in Europe, where farmers in the Eastern part of England, in the Netherlands and Germany grow sugar beet. To ensure these people get a ‘reasonable price’ for their sugar beet the price of sugar in Europe is

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1119522395838333422005-06-23T11:26:00.000+01:002005-06-23T11:26:35.843+01:00

Rooting about on the web, I came across this story. Chinese politicians are concerned that the domesetically built inorganic chemcials sector there is in danger of overheating leading to boom and bust. Experts warn of overheated chemicals sector

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1119369044800410232005-06-21T16:49:00.000+01:002005-06-21T16:50:44.806+01:00

Sorry, more bad Shakespear. I do read other authors. But it struck me that the news that there is a strike underway at carbon-black maker Cabot in the US, was the third I'd heard about in the last week. Not counting the wood-burning pot-boiler in Finland. One other at Tessenderlo, Belgium a one-day stoppage, on 10 June. Another 24-hour protest at BASF's Feleuy, Belgium plant over

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1119258240964110482005-06-20T09:57:00.000+01:002005-06-22T13:56:32.156+01:00

Why do badly managed firms survive?I read the piece in a back issue of the Economist last Friday. The London School of Economics and the business consultants McKinsey think they may have found at least part of the answerI'd welcome your comments....At the time I was rattling across the West Country my way to interview someone who makes a living telling companies how to dismantle chemical plants

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1118666027383754082005-06-13T13:33:00.000+01:002005-06-16T17:53:50.883+01:00

Neelie Kroes, EU Competition Commissioner, originally uploaded by Chemical Industry Insider.After months of complaints about the high cost of energy in some European Union countries, and the lack of alternative suppliers, The Euroepean Commission has today started an investigation into the energy market . This should put pressure on French regulators in particular to properly deregulate the

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1118664123390624612005-06-13T12:54:00.000+01:002005-06-16T17:53:21.626+01:00

It is standard practice for prosecutors in anti-trust cases to offer immunity to firms that blow the whistle. If this report from the Associated Press via Yahoo is right, then this could spread to other areas of corporate malfeasance. http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050613/corporate_fraud.html?.v=2If it helps keep business honest, how can officers of the court like company lawyers really be against this?

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1118399862115924412005-06-10T11:20:00.000+01:002006-08-28T03:19:25.983+01:00

Chemical News and Intelligence, the subscription only online news service for the chemcials sector posted this yesterday:Titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigment producer Kerr-McGee said Wednesday its chemicals subsidiary had filed an initial public offering (IPO) for as much as $300m (Euro243.9m) in Class A common stock.Oklahoma City, Oklahoma-based Kerr-McGee said the IPO by New-Co Chemical - an

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1118395542084483802005-06-10T10:25:00.000+01:002005-06-10T10:32:51.636+01:00

PavementArt, originally uploaded by Chemical Industry Insider.Hats off to the Innovene viral marketers at NPRA earlier this year, but look what they could have achieved with a bit of time and money…The Artist is Julian Beever, the art looks distorted unless viewed from the right angle. See also Innovene Viral Marketing at NPRA posted 4 April 05.pip pip

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1117812298852733352005-06-03T16:16:00.000+01:002005-06-03T16:24:58.860+01:00

It is great that you come all this way several times a week, and I really do appreciate it. But there really is no need. You could be enjoying the experience without ever leaving the comfort of your desktop. If you install a news reader--and the insider uses AWASU at home (its free)-- then you can get this and all your other information needs in one place. Without turning a hair. Download your

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1117810912646434502005-06-03T15:29:00.000+01:002005-06-16T17:51:01.943+01:00

The following a rather dry peer-reviewed paper has been the basis for a lot of hot air about phthalates this week http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/2005/8100/8100.pdf. The Miami Herald for example ran a story on it summed it up as 'Study maps harm to male genetalia' https://registration.miami.com/reg/login.do?url=http://www.miami.com%2Fmld%2Fmiamiherald%2Fliving%2Fhealth%2F11751275.htm (and you

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10982525.post-1117529334619518182005-05-31T09:45:00.000+01:002005-05-31T10:00:12.213+01:00

As you can see, on the Truth Laid Bear ranking system, the Chemical Industry Insider is a Crunchy Crustacian. If you want to find out where that places the Insider in the Bear's heirarchy of beings, click on the link. Next goal: invade the land...

Biofuelsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227140278265798586noreply@blogger.com