By 2040, demand for nickel will grow 19 times bigger than it is today as electric vehicles (EVs) claim an increasingly greater share of the world’s car market, the International Energy Agency said. In addition to being a key ingredient in stainless steel, nickel also is essential in making the more powerful batteries demanded by...
Category: TRENDS ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC FRONT
Post
STEEL PRICE SPIKE HOBBLES MANUFACTURING
The global price of steel has rocketed from $560 a ton in September 2019 and 2020 to $1,940 on 1 September this year, according to commodity analysis firm CRU Group. A U.S. government index following the price of iron and steel saw costs double in August, compared to a year earlier, the biggest 12-month rise...
Post
WILL SURGING GAS PRICES SINK UK, EU ECONOMIES
Yes, inflation is real. But do you think the Bankster mob and their billionaire buddies care? The wholesale price of natural gas has climbed 250 percent since January and 70 percent in the last three weeks, according to Oil & Gas UK, an industry trade group. The soaring gas price has multiplied electricity prices as...
Post
INFLATION FLATTENS EUROPE’S EQUITY MARKETS
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 stock index and London’s FTSE traded essentially flat for the week ending 17 September, with Germany’s DAX slipping 1 percent and the French CAC managing a 0.3-percent gain. Markets were stymied by inflation, MarketWatch said, which rose to 3 percent in August from 2.2 percent in July to reach its...
Post
INFLATION PERVADES THE ONLINE ECONOMY
Prices across the Internet have increased for 15 consecutive months, jacking up the cost of everything from drugs to pet products to flower arrangements, according to Adobe Digital Insights. In August, prices of online goods and services swelled 3.1 percent, year on year, and gained 0.1 percent on July’s prices, Adobe found. In contrast, online...
Post
HOUSING PRICES WORLDWIDE RISING FASTEST SINCE 2005
The average price of a home across 55 countries rose 9.2 percent from June 2020 to June 2021, the fastest rate since the 12 months ending in March 2005, according to consulting firm Knight Frank. The rate of increase was 4.3 percent between June 2019 and 2020. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Russia, Turkey, and the...
Post
GRIFOLS BUYS CONTROL OF COMPETING PLASMA MANUFACTURER
Grifols SA, a Spanish chemical and pharmaceutical giant, will buy a controlling stake in Germany’s Biotest AG for €1.6 billion, the companies announced. Like Grifols, Biotest manufactures blood plasma products. Grifols will pay €43 a share to acquire Biotest shares owned by Tiancheng International Investment, based in Hong Kong, which would give Grifols 89.88 percent...
Post
HUTCHINSON, OOREDOO MERGE INDONESIAN TELECOM OPERATIONS
Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchinson is merging its Indonesian telecommunications business with that of Qatar’s Ooredoo Group in a $6-billion marriage, according to the Financial Times. The companies will each own half of the new Ooredoo Hutchinson Asia, which, in turn, will own 65.6 percent of the new entity, to be called Indosat Ooredoo Hutchinson....
Post
TRANSUNION FINALIZING $3.1 BILLION DEAL FOR NEUSTAR’
TransUnion, one of the three major U.S. credit bureaus, is in final negotiations to buy Neustar, a closely-held firm providing data analysis and cybersecurity services to a range of industries and Internet platforms, for $3.1 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported. The sale could be finalized imminently, insiders told the WSJ. The deal would help...
Post
FOX, NEWS CORP CONTINUE STRING OF ACQUISITIONS
Fox Corp. and News Corp, its parent, are continuing to gobble their way through the world’s media menu, adding more than 20 properties for almost $7 billion since Lachlan Murdoch took leadership of the company from his father, Rupert, in 2019. Last week, Fox grabbed website TMZ, dedicated to celebrity gossip, for something less than...