We have heard its market fundamentals, we have heard its China buying, we have heard its hedge fund or ETF speculation, now the conspiracy theories are making the rounds concerning the copper price. The Telegraph newspaper ran an interesting feature today exploring the rumors circulating the market that the 76% rise since Christmas Eve 2008 [...]
In short, it tells us that any change in automotive demand greatly impacts rhodium prices. On Monday, the Midwest Federal Reserve released some numbers and according to this press release, the Chicago Fed’s Midwest Manufacturing Index fell 0.3% for June despite an improvement in automotive output up 1.4% for June. In addition, regional car production [...]
There has been a lot of hype about wind power and its potential to meet future energy needs and there is no doubt a lot of our tax payer dollars will be re-distributed by this administration to support the industry and encourage investment. The industry is in it’s infancy. In 2009, it generated just 1.5% [...]
This is part two of a two part series. Part One examined the hypothesis: Are Industrial Metals Really on the Rise? Part Two reviews the specific metals markets and draws conclusions. Let’s look at some of the key metals markets in turn to assess this new rise in world industrial activity. Last Friday, Stuart posted [...]
The Japanese take a slightly different approach to the Chinese when it comes to securing raw material supplies. Lacking the bottomless pockets of Chinese firms and slowed by the due diligence and board approval procedures typical of Japanese corporations, they have been repeatedly beaten to the deal by fleeter Chinese rivals. What the Japanese can [...]
This is part one of a two part series which we will continue this afternoon. Part One examines the hypothesis: Are Industrial Metals Really on the Rise? Part Two reviews the specific metals markets and draws conclusions. Many industry observers would certainly have us think that indeed, industrial metals are on the rise. Consider some [...]
Apart from the obvious industry boosters, most observers have been a little surprised by aluminum’s resilience during the 2nd quarter. With a massive 4.5m ton stocks in exchange warehouses and traditional markets like automotive and construction heavily depressed, few analysts could see a reason for prices to rise. However rise they have done and finally [...]
In 1921, mechanical engineer Max Braun founded his German consumer electronics manufacturing business, Braun GmbH, in the town of Kronberg im Taunus near Frankfurt am Main. Since then, Braun has delivered numerous examples of elegant product design. One of Braun’s most notable periods of innovation concerns its dry shavers. As the story goes, during World [...]
