Plastics News named M. Holland among the Best Places to Work for 2023! This marks the company’s sixth consecutive year receiving this award. Congratulations to all 22 finalists this year!
Plastics Business published a story written by M. Holland’s Todd Waddle, Director, Sustainability, which reviews key considerations for implementing post-consumer recycled (PCR) and post-industrial recycled (PIR) materials. Click here to read the full article.
Supply
Oil rose 0.5% Thursday, boosted by signs of a strong economic rebound in China.
In mid-morning trading today, WTI futures were flat at $78.18/bbl, Brent was down 0.2% at $84.58/bbl, and U.S. natural gas was up 2.1% at $2.82/MMBtu.
OPEC raised crude production in February by 120,000 bpd amid a rebound in Nigerian output.
Russia’s oil product exports were down 20% in February to the lowest level since last May and were 24% below pre-war levels. According to Bloomberg, Russia’s tax revenues from oil and gas plunged 46% in the month.
China’s seaborne imports of Russian oil are set to hit a record high this month as refiners take advantage of cheap prices.
Canada’s five biggest oil sands producers reported record 2022 profits of a combined $25.7 billion.
The U.S. administration is offering $1.2 billion in funding for nuclear reactors at risk of retiring soon or that ceased operations in 2021.
Saudi Arabia’s energy firm ACWA Power, which is developing the world’s largest utility-scale green hydrogen facility, plans to build three more massive projects in the country.
China permitted more than six times the amount of coal power last year than the rest of the world.
European chemical producers are painting a bleak outlook for 2023, citing continued fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and slowing economic growth.
Hapag-Lloyd posted record profit of $18.08 billion last year, up 88% from 2021.
Norfolk Southern and its rivals agreed to join a federal system that lets employees confidentially report close calls, a program the biggest freight railroads had refused to join for years.
Electric-vehicle-maker Polestar posted a small quarterly loss while maintaining its production outlook for 2023.
Tesla’s planned factory in northern Mexico’s Nuevo Leon state will be built on a site almost twice the size of the automaker’s Texas factory, with construction slated to start in three months.
Nevada approved a more than $330 million tax abatement for Tesla, which is set to invest over $3.6 billion to expand its Gigafactory complex in the state.
Shares of Chinese rare-earth miners plunged Thursday following Tesla’s surprise announcement that it will drop the use of the material in future models, citing health and environmental risks.
Chile’s SQM, the world’s second-largest lithium producer, tripled fourth-quarter profit from a year ago on surging demand and tight supplies.
Ford launched a new automated driving subsidiary, Latitude AI, just months after winding down operations of its former self-driving tech unit Argo AI.
Chinese automakers largely filled the void left by the departure of Western automakers from Russia last year.
Stellantis and Renault are increasingly turning to their own employees to tackle a shortage of truck drivers that’s preventing thousands of cars from making it to dealerships or customers.
Domestic Markets
A central bank official said the Federal Reserve will need to raise rates to higher levels than previously thought if recent strength in hiring and consumer spending continues.
Profits across the U.S. banking industry fell 6% in 2022, largely due to the Federal Reserve’s aggressive campaign to curb inflation.
U.S. labor costs grew at a 3.2% pace last quarter, faster than initially thought.
General Electric plans to invest over $450 million in its existing U.S. manufacturing sites this year.
Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, reported higher profit last quarter despite lower beer sales and said China’s recovery would boost results further this year.
Kroger surprised Wall Street with bumper quarterly results and higher profit forecasts amid cost-cutting efforts across its digital business and supply chain.
Dell Technologies forecast current-quarter revenue and profit below Wall Street estimates on weak demand for personal computers and servers.
Broadcom says current-quarter revenue will rise more than expected as rising investments in artificial intelligence spur demand for its data-center chips.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage rose above 7% yesterday.
First-time homebuyers made up the smallest share of home sales on record last year at 26%.
International Markets
February saw six interest-rate hikes by central banks overseeing the world’s most heavily traded currencies, including the U.S.
The Bank of Canada will hold its key interest rate at the current level of 4.5% until the end of this year before starting to cut rates in January 2024, according to government predictions.
Over the past three years, China’s working population fell by 41 million, roughly the size of Germany’s entire workforce, due to COVID-19 and demographic changes.
Brazil’s economy contracted 0.2% in the fourth quarter, extending an overall slowdown last year.
Sanctions and other roadblocks are delaying Western firms’ efforts to leave Russia.
Germany’s Merck predicts earnings will slip this year due to a decline at its electronic chemicals unit and a drop in COVID-related demand for medical products.
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