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UK needs to get its act together before Brexit vote, Juncker says
It is not up to EU to resolve problems before MPs vote on May’s deal, London told
Jean-Claude Juncker says the EU’s proposed solutions ‘have been on the table for months’. Photograph: Eric Vidal/Reuters
Jean-Claude Juncker has told the UK to “get its act together” in the run-up to the delayed House of Commons vote on Theresa May’s Brexit deal.
The European commission president said the EU could not be expected to resolve the problems that continue to make it likely the British government will suffer a heavy defeat.
“I find it entirely unreasonable for parts of the British public to believe that it is for the EU alone to propose a solution for all future British problems,” Juncker said in a wide-ranging interview with the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. “My appeal is this. Get your act together and then tell us what it is you want. Our proposed solutions have been on the table for months.”
Crude Oil Prices Trend
Polymers PET Spandex Petrochemicals Prices
Remembering Dhirubhai Ambani, the polyester prince who made himself king of India Inc.
In just 3 decades, Dhirubhai Ambani rose from a clerk to India’s top industrialist, and it was all down to his vision, risk-taking ability and people skills.
New Delhi: There is no Indian conglomerate that can come within touching distance of Reliance today in terms of net worth, even though brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani have split the business into their own diversified groups. And for that wealth, they have to thank the vision and risk-taking ability of their father, the late Dhirubhai Ambani.
Rising from a clerk in a British company in Aden, to the ‘prince of polyester’, to the uncrowned king of India Inc. and a Padma Vibhushan awardee, the senior Ambani lived a fascinating life, which was even adapted into the Bollywood blockbuster Guru by legendary director Mani Ratnam.
War set to be waged on plastic
Thailand is looking to ban the use of very thin single-use plastic bags in 2022, followed by single-use plastic glasses and straws three years later, according to plans drafted by the Pollution Control Department.
t is also looking to reduce the use of thicker plastic bags, such as those given out by department stores, by 70% over the next 20 years and ban plastic bottle tops and toxic chemicals found in plastics used for food containers.
The measures are part of efforts to curb the increasing use of throw-away plastic and hopefully reduce the dumping of plastic waste into the sea.
Chelmsford manufacturer working for ‘sustainable products’
A steady whir of machinery filled the large production room at Waddington North America’s Stuart Road manufacturing facility, while employees ensured the single-use plastic plates, cups and utensils emerging from the machines were packaged properly.
“This is a molding machine that is taking resin pellets that are stored in silos outside of the building,” Rob Ayles, director of operations at WNA’s Chelmsford location, explained to town officials during a Dec. 18 tour of the facility. “They are pumped into each machine, the pellets are melted to 500 degrees, and injected into a cavity where the part is formed.”
How to Create a Sustainable Business Model
Creating a sustainable business model can be difficult. Let’s dive deep into the concept of sustainability in business development.
A growing movement against plastic products and irresponsible consumption is just one of the signs that sustainability is becoming more and more important to buyers. But what does that mean for your business, and how can you create – or shift to – a sustainable business model?
The dictionary definition for “sustainable” is “able to be maintained at a certain rate or level.” Wikipedia is a bit more helpful: “Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” But we need to dig a little deeper to understand how the concept of sustainability is relevant to business development.
Coca-Cola Africa has pledged $38-million to recycling industries across Africa.
The Coca-Cola Company pledges millions to recycling industries.
Coca-Cola Africa, a major partner of the Global Citizen Mandela 100 Festival, committed millions of dollars to recycling industries across Southern and East Africa.
The company also launched its new 100-per-cent recycled PET bottle at the festival.
Speaking at the festival, Maserame Mouyeme, director of public affairs, communications and sustainability at Coca-Cola Southern and East Africa, said, “At Coca-Cola we believe in doing business in the right way because people matter and our planet matters, too.
“This system investment will in turn create more than 19 000 income opportunities, many of them for women.”
“We acknowledge the harm that packaging, in particular plastic, can do to our environment.
-Nanophase Technologies Co. CEO Buys $16,361.19 in Stock
Nanophase Technologies logoNanophase Technologies Co. CEO Jess Jankowski bought 20,199 shares of Nanophase Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $0.81 per share, for a total transaction of $16,361.19. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.
Shares of Nanophase Technologies stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $0.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,709.
OUTLOOK ’19: Asia BPA markets set for limited fluctuations
Asia bisphenol A (BPA)markets are poised to see limited fluctuationsamid expectations of demand to stabilise atbest in early 2019.
Spot prices of BPAin key China markets have slumped in the fourthquarter of 2018, dragged down by dwindlingdownstream demand, particularly inpolycarbonate (PC) and epoxy resinapplications.
The largely bearish market was exacerbated by apersistently weak Chinese yuan (CNY) currencyto the US dollar, depressed by the China-UStrade war, making imports uneconomical.
Bio-plastic from Algae? BETO surfs the ocean waves for a breakthrough
No, not the Beto from Texas, silly! BETO is the US Energy Department’s Bioenergy Technologies Office. Earlier this year BETO dropped a cool $2 million in funding for a cutting edge algae plastic research project aimed at accelerating the sparkling green bioeconomy of the future.
BETO breakthrough may give us bio-plastic from algae – better for the oceans
The algae project is far from a one-off, by the way. For all of President* Trump’s blustering about fossil fuels, the US Department of Energy is still pursuing R&D programs that will help shift the economy out of dependence on fossil-based plastics as well as fossil fuels and chemicals.
Viewpoint: 1H 2019 ethylene looks well-supplied
New US ethylene supplies coming on line in the first half of 2019 are unlikely to depress Mont Belvieu, Texas, prices as new derivative units help balance the market.
The US is currently flush with ethylene, and the start of four new units and a mothballed facility in the first half of 2019 are expected to increase overall US ethylene production by 15pc. But this new output is unlikely to send spot ethylene prices lower because about 80pc of the new capacity will be paired with derivative units.
Louisiana start-ups account for 70pc of the new capacity. The two smallest of the five new crackers — both long-delayed — Indorama’s 420,000 t/yr unit and Shintech’s 500,000 t/yr in Plaquemine, will not be paired with derivative units. These units will add to ethylene’s bearishness, but their impact may not be significant. Indorama’s cracker is expected to begin commercial production by mid-January, while Shintech’s startup is expected sometime in the first half of 2019.
Van de Wiele’s complete carpet solutions at Domotex
Van de Wiele, a specialist in complete carpet solutions, from granulate to carpet, will present its latest innovations at Domotex, a leading trade fair for floor coverings that takes place from 11-14 January 2019 in Hannover, Germany.
The company’s portfolio contains BCF extrusion lines, heat-setting, tufting and carpet weaving machines. The event is an opportunity for the manufacturer to meet current customers and prospects for future business.
“Of course, it is important to participate to show the presence in the market, but it also is the opportunity to strengthen the long-term relationship with our customers,” the company explains.
Crude oil prices steady near year-and-a-half lows ahead of New Year
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 72 cents to settle at $45.33 a barrel, after earlier reaching $46.22 a barrel
Oil prices steadied on Friday after a week of volatile trading ahead of the New Year holiday, supported by a rise in U.S. equity markets but pressured by worries about a global glut of crude.
Brent crude futures rose 4 cents to settle at $52.20 a barrel, off the session high of $53.80 a barrel.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 72 cents to settle at $45.33 a barrel, after earlier reaching $46.22 a barrel.
Both benchmarks posted third straight weekly declines, with Brent losing about 3 percent and WTI nearly 0.4 percent.
2018: A Happening Year for Textiles-Apparel
For global trade and industry, particularly textiles and apparel, 2018 turned out to be a very happening year.
Rajesh Kumar Shah looks at top ten developments that changed or is likely to affect global textiles-apparel production and trade.
United States (US) President Donald Trump’s decision of imposing duties on goods of other countries with which it has a negative trade balance, undoubtedly, had the maximum impact on the textiles and apparel industry worldwide in 2018.
The US decision forced many textiles and apparel exporting nations to rethink, and be ready with an alternative strategy in case their exports to the US dwindle.
As experts focused on pros and cons, especially the US-China trade war, some nations like Bangladesh and Vietnam saw in it an opportunity to boost their exports to the US.
The year also saw the US signing a revised free trade agreement with South Korea as also the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a rechristened version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
OPEC cuts, the US and the oil price in 2019
Vinod Raghothamarao, consulting director of energy wide perspectives at IHS Markitt, on the energy market, OPEC cuts and the outlook for 2019
The Vienna Alliance of OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers decided in December 2018 to reduce oil supply from October levels by a collective 1.2mmbpd starting in January 2019, effectively reversing a supply expansion of 1mmbpd that was agreed at its last meeting in June.
OPEC will account for 800,000 bpd of that cut, and 10 non-OPEC members of the alliance will account for the remaining 400,000 bpd.
Saudi Arabia and Russia, the two largest producers in the alliance that accounted for the lion’s share of increased output in recent months, will nominally be reducing supply the most.
Had the alliance failed to agree to cut supply, the markets were poised to fall further.
We need leaders who are versed in logistics and economics of oil
Would you sell your most valuable resource for about 25% of the price of what it was worth?
That is what Canada was doing in November when they allowed the oil companies to sell Alberta crude oil for US$13 a barrel when the market price was US$54.
This landlocked oil was costing the government millions of US dollars a day.
Some of the oil companies were happy to obtain the oil at this price because they could refine it and get a much higher profit margin on this refined oil.
The government finally started to take action by reducing the amount of oil produced which narrowed the gap with the market price.
The problem became worse in summer 2018 as the government spent billions in an effort to expand pipelines to ease the landlocked problem.
OUTLOOK ’19: US chem industry to grow despite global economic uncertainty
The US petrochemical industryin 2019 is primed to continue the growth thanksto feedstock advantage trumping increasedeconomic uncertainty various trade and fiscalpolicies.
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) expectschemical output to grow by 3.6% in 2019,compared to 3.1% in 2018.
Competitive advantage from shale gas is themain factor keeping the US petrochemicaloutlook positive, the ACC said.
Although US chemical manufacturersexperienced higher oil and gas prices at theend of 2018, the ACC noted they continue toenjoy cheaper and more abundant feedstocks andenergy compared to foreign competitors.
Saudi oil facility likely to start in January, UAE’s could take longer
ISLAMABAD: The deferred oil facility with Saudi Arabia should be complete and ready for signature in January as a revised draft agreement has been sent to Riyadh, a well-placed source in the finance ministry told Dawn on Saturday, while the talks with the UAE on the same facility have not yet yielded a draft agreement.
“We have almost finalised the details of the agreement with Saudi Arabia at the technical level,” the source said, adding that the remaining issues will be sorted out by the second week of January.
New Process for Bioplastic with Low Water Impact
The news periodically brings reports of great islands—sometimes even described as continents—of trash created as plastics and other debris accumulate in the open seas.
Responding to the need for plastics that will not contribute to the problem, researchers at Tel Aviv University have devised a method for creating a polymer from marine microorganisms that completely recycles into organic waste.
What’s more, the process itself has a very low environmental impact.
Britain’s richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is weighing up an expansion of his chemicals empire with a £550million purchase in the US.
His firm Ineos has held talks with American mining group Tronox and the National Titanium Dioxide Company about buying a white pigment plant in Ohio.
The move comes as Tronox seeks approval from the US Federal Trade Commission to seal its merger with the National Titanium Dioxide Company.
Oil prices remain steady ahead of New Year
Oil prices went down slightly during the week ending Dec. 28, with the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for February delivery decreasing 0.57 percent and Brent crude for February delivery down 3.01 percent.
In the previous week ending Dec. 21, oil prices decreased sharply. WTI decreased 11.0 percent, and Brent crude decreased 10.7 percent.
At the end of the week, WTI settled at 45.59 U.S. dollars a barrel, while Brent crude closed at 53.82 dollars a barrel.
Asia’s Iran crude imports hit more than 5-yr low in Nov as sanctions bite
Imports of Iranian crude oil by major buyers in Asia hit their lowest in more than five years in November as U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil exports took effect last month, government and ship-tracking data showed.
China, India, Japan and South Korea last month imported about 664,800 barrels per day (bpd) from Iran, according to the data, down 12.7 percent from the same month a year earlier.
South Korea cut imports to zero for a third month in November while Japan followed suit. India’s November imports are down about 40 percent from October, the data showed.
Asia’s Iranian oil imports are set to rise from December after the United States granted eight countries waivers from sanctions against Iran’s oil exports for 180 days.
Montreal researchers create plastic from lobster, shrimp shells
Turning lobster shells to plastic
McGill researchers have patented a process that transforms crustacean and insect shells into a useable plastic material.
Researchers at McGill University have developed a new type of durable yet biodegradable plastic from the shells of crustaceans like shrimp and lobster.
Working from a Montreal lab, they have modified a substance found in crustacean shells called chitin into a polymer called chitosan, which is usually difficult to make durable or fabricate in mass quantities.
Europe benzene January contract price falls tonine-and-a-half year low
The European benzene Januarycontract price has settled at €485/tonne, adecrease of €57/tonne fromDecember, two buyers and three sellers saidon Friday.
The settlement was agreed at a US dollarconcept of $552/tonne and converted to the europrice at an agreed exchange rate of €1:$1.1377.
This is the lowest contract price agreed forbenzene in Europe sinceMay 2009.
The January settlement was a drop of $65/tonneversus December in dollar terms.
