November 2009

Renault Announces Line Up of Four All Electric Vehicles

by Stuart Burns on November 30, 2009

Style:    Category: Green, Product Developments

Keywords:

Having written in the summer on Nissan’s new Leaf all electric car, we can now announce the release of details on their partner Renault’s line up of four electric models. According to a Telegraph article they have a saloon, a compact hatchback, a quirky two-seater and the model they showed to the UK press this [...]

{ 1 comment }

Naked Packaging

by Nate Burgos on November 30, 2009

Style:    Category: Green, Product Developments

Keywords:

New York-based design studio Ryan Harc proposed this concept for eco-friendly packaging. Imagine the pervasive Coca-Cola can without its distinctive visual brand color of red: Simply put, no colors, only the raw material of metal. From Ryan Harc’s proposal: “A convex logo substitutes colorfully sprayed can. Naked can help to reduce air and water pollution [...]

{ 2 comments }

China Slows Copper Buying, Exports and Stocks Rise

by Stuart Burns on November 30, 2009

Style:    Category: Non-ferrous Metals, Sourcing Strategies, Supply & Demand

Keywords:

No one would argue that the main driver in the copper price this year has been Chinese consumption. It was the surge of real consumption, stockpiling and plain speculative buying initiated by the Chinese SRB at the turn of the year that set in chain a rapid rise in price from under $3000 per metric [...]

{ 0 comments }

Iron-Fortified Motions: Sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz’s Place of Gathering

by Nate Burgos on November 27, 2009

Style:    Category: Ferrous Metals

Keywords:

In the near South side of Chicago is a park where one can find themselves in the company of 106 iron cast figures. Entitled “Agora, the Greek word for a place of gathering, the outdoor installation gives the sensation of what sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz calls “the countless. “My work comes from the experience of crowds, [...]

{ 2 comments }

Falling Dollar Rising Profits

by Stuart Burns on November 27, 2009

Style:    Category: Macroeconomics

Keywords:

We and many others have written about the falling dollar, about the concerns of foreign governments over the impact this will have on their own competitiveness, about the possibility rising import costs will stoke inflation, about fears that if the dollar becomes debased it will lead to a collapse of its role as the reserve [...]

{ 0 comments }

Did Toyota Fall From Supply Chain Grace?

by Lisa Reisman on November 26, 2009

Style:    Category: Product Developments

Keywords:

For those of you who missed the story, Toyota just announced its largest recall ever of 3.8m cars including the following models: 2007 to 2010 Camry, 2005 to 2010 Avalon, 2004 to 2009 Prius, 2005 to 2010 MY Tacoma, 2007 to 2010 MY Tundra, 2007 to 2010 MY ES350, 2006 to 2010 MY IS250, and [...]

{ 3 comments }

The Metal Recycling Market Jabbed but not Unscrapped

by Nate Burgos on November 26, 2009

Style:    Category: Ferrous Metals, Macroeconomics, Non-ferrous Metals, Supply & Demand

Keywords: ,

Image by Hermés at Flickr I assume neighborhood signs, like the one in this picture, can be found worldwide. In any economic climate, things break down”especially metal. From 20042008, high demand and prices for discarded metal fed a wave of scrap metal theft: from stealing sewer covers and farm equipment to ripping out copper wiring [...]

{ 2 comments }

Gold Rising For Now

by Stuart Burns on November 26, 2009

Style:    Category: Precious Metals

Keywords:

The first ETF was launched just 5 years ago by the World Gold Council and State Street Securities. Since then it has returned 150% and assets have grown to $40bn. In the meantime, many other physically backed gold funds have started although State Streets’ is still one of the largest. Physically backed ETF’s bought some [...]

{ 1 comment }

← Previous Entries