The recent power problems in China, largely caused by bad weather reported in our recent article, comes at the same time as widespread power problems in South Africa have affected Ferro-Chrome, coal and precious metal mining.
So much for mining companies, but what of the manufacturers? It is estimated that the Chinese power problems have idled […]

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To suggest that prices are going to remain firm let alone possibly rise in the face of a potential recession seems perverse but that is the prospect facing the US Tool Steel market in 2008. As predicted in a recent article on Cobalt the metal price has continued to rise with trading this week at […]

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The last time you pulled up at the pump to fill your car with gas, did you wince when you saw the bill? Well, that’s why overall freight costs are headed north. The shipping lines usually lag the gas pump by about a month, so you won’t be surprised to hear Bunker (or fuel) surcharges […]

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I received a phone call last evening from a friend in Shanghai. He had asked me if I heard about the power shortages and energy crisis in China. Oddly enough, I had been planning on writing a short piece on how power shortages were having an impact on various metals markets. In China, the country’s […]

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As shipping company shares drop dramatically across the world’s stock markets, could the Baltic Exchange be pointing the way for the Global Trade market during the year ahead? Several days of sharp falls in London on the Baltic Exchange’s Dry Index caused major shipping corporation stocks to fall sharply this week, led by COSCO, China […]

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While many of you were undoubtedly enjoying your weekend — those of us in Chicago were trying to stay warm in 5 degree weather — I stumbled across an interesting article from the New York Times on how overseas investors are scooping up US companies often at fire sale prices. This should not come as […]

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Home of such influential rockers as the White Stripes, Electric Six, the Detroit Cobras, and the Raconteurs, Detroit was also rocking and rolling with the North American International Auto Show last week. The show will remain open to the public until January 27. Not the biggest, maybe not even the most-loved auto show around, the […]

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Just days after making our metals and currency predictions for 2008 I read that many notable commentators are supporting our comments on the Chinese currency. Driven by stubbornly high inflation, Beijing looks set (unofficially) to let the RMB appreciate significantly in the coming year in an attempt to dampen exports and reduce demand for imports, […]

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While the rise in iron-ore prices will hurt steelmakers without their own iron resources, steelmakers with their own iron-ore are possibly about to hit payday – along with company investors. OneSteel of Australia, for example, was recently featured in an Andrew Harrison article in the Wall Street Journal as one of the few steelmaking companies […]

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In a determined effort to cut costs, Rolls-Royce PLC recently announced plans to dismiss 2,300 workers, nearly six percent of the company’s approximately 39,500 international employees. Workers in the U.K., the U.S., Germany, and Nordic countries will most feel the sting, according to the Wall Street Journal. The U.K. jet-engine maker seems to be faring well, with […]

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