December 2007

I mentioned to you a couple of days back that from time to time, I would share a few war stories on these virtual pages. But since we are still getting to know each other, I won’t be able to get into some of the more scandalous stories (like about a former boss of mine [...]

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Could aluminum prices rise in the face of a recession? Citing opinions from some 25 metal market analysts, Harbor Intelligence is predicting a better than 50% chance that the aluminum price will rise in 2008, hitting a peak of over $2600/mt in 2008 and over $2700/mt in 2009. At the same time that Morgan Stanley [...]

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British broadsheet newspaper The Daily Telegraph recently illustrated the supply market risks facing any significant user of gold, quoting Kevin McArther, chief executive of GoldCorps. We won’t build a mine where we won’t go on holiday, he says of mining investments. The Daily Telegraph noted that the world’s reserves of gold are dwindling fast. At [...]

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  Almost everyone knows the age-old adage, Buy Low, Sell High, with the possible exception of a scoundrel trader for whom I used to work. He practiced a Buy low, but do whatever you need to sell strategy. Although buying low and selling high is a rather duh concept, I always get a kick out [...]

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Good Morning Vietnam: Investments Underway

by Lisa Reisman on December 11, 2007

Style:    Category: Global Trade

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About a year ago, the media declared that Vietnam was the next big LCCS market after China. Intel helped found these rumours when establishing their largest overseas manufacturing operation with a one billion dollar investment near Ho Chi Minh City. But then things went rather quiet. One of the problems quickly realized by small- to [...]

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It may have been 1967, but the one-word of career advice that Benjamin Braddock received from a family friend — “plastics” — remains iconoclast. But heck, we don’t write about plastics; we write about metals — so it came as a pleasant surprise to read this article in ASM International about a new alloy called [...]

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Part Two: How Green is My Supply Chain?

by Lisa Reisman on December 7, 2007

Style:    Category: Green

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In part one of this two-part series, I discussed the growing importance of the carbon footprint. Some important questions might remain. How do I measure the carbon footprint of my products, and why should I? There are three reasons:

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Part One: How Green Is My Supply Chain?

by Lisa Reisman on December 6, 2007

Style:    Category: Environment, Green

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The concept of climate change and the need to reduce carbon emissions is far from widely accepted in the U.S., but viewpoints are beginning to change, largely due to customer demand. Japan and the European Union were early converts to the argument that we are changing our planet’s weather patterns, and much of the current [...]

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