A recent Plastics News story highlights business insight from M. Holland’s Plastics Reflections webinar. Click here to read the article, which examines the various challenges facing international resin markets, including the economy, inflation, high inventories, reshoring and more.
Oil rose 3% Wednesday, boosted by rising exports, increased refining activity and the strong U.S. dollar.
In mid-morning trading today, WTI futures were up 1.4% at $89.17/bbl, Brent was up 1.1% at $96.74/bbl, and U.S. natural gas was down 5.2% at $5.31/MMBtu.
U.S. crude stocks rose by a larger-than-expected 2.6 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Global fossil fuel demand will peak or plateau by the end of the decade, with demand deterioration accelerated by the war in Ukraine, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
U.S. crude exports rose to 5.1 million bpd last week, an all-time high, which dropped net crude imports to their lowest level on record.
U.S. refining rates were steady at 89% of capacity last week, the highest for this time of year since 2018.
A blanket cap on gas prices in Europe this winter has shifted into a last-resort measure.
Russian seaborne exports fell to their lowest level of the year in September as the IEA projects that demand for Russian oil will fall 25% by the end of the decade and never return to 2021 levels.
DSV saw its profit rise in the third quarter despite declining air and sea volumes. The Danish freight forwarder also says it is backing away from acquisitions until valuations of target companies come down.
A U.S. less-than-truckload group has created a common electronic bill of lading, promising to streamline data and give greater visibility to shippers.
In the latest news from the auto industry:
Ford swung to a quarterly loss of $827 million after a hefty charge associated with the shutdown of its defunct self-driving venture Argo AI, which Volkswagen also exited.
Ford on Wednesday quickly followed Mercedes in announcing plans to fully exit Russia.
The White House unveiled nearly $1 billion in grants to help electrify school-district bus fleets.
About half of Europe’s aluminum production has been shut down due to surging energy costs this year, prompting Norwegian producer Norsk Hydro to call for U.S. sanctions against Russian aluminum.
Quarterly profit at Samsung Electronics fell 23.6% as demand for memory chips, its main source of income, slumped.
Taiwanese chipmaker United Microelectronics cut its capital expenditures by 20% this year due to weak consumer demand.
Hard-drive-maker Seagate Technology will trim 8% of its global workforce, or 3,000 workers, on forecasts of falling demand.
The backup of grain-carrying ships at Ukrainian ports now exceeds 150 vessels.
Domestic Markets
The U.S. reported 69,897 new COVID-19 infections and 1,095 virus fatalities Wednesday.
Health experts fear rising cases of influenza and respiratory illnesses could trigger a COVID-19 wave heading into winter.
Most offices in the largest U.S. cities are still less than half full even after employers ramped up campaigns to bring workers back in recent weeks.
U.S. GDP grew a better-than-expected 2.6% last quarter, rebounding from two consecutive quarters of contraction.
U.S. initial jobless claims rose by 3,000 last week to 217,000, indicating the employment market remains robust.
The U.S. trade deficit in goods widened sharply by 5.7% in September, the first expansion in five months:
New U.S. home sales fell 10.9% in September, new data shows, as the average U.S. mortgage rate reaches its highest level since 2001:
In the latest news from earnings season:
Shares of Facebook parent Meta plummeted 15% after the tech giant saw a second quarter of revenue decline and warned of near-term sales headwinds.
Boeing’s quarterly loss widened to $3.3 billion from $132 million a year ago, on a range of issues in its supply chain, defense business and regulatory approvals.
Kraft Heinz said strong demand in the face of rising inflation led to an 11.6% increase in quarterly sales.
Same-store sales at paint and coatings manufacturer Sherwin-Williams rose nearly 21% on higher product prices.
China’s year-to-date budget deficit almost tripled from a year ago to a record $980 billion, as COVID-19 outbreaks and a housing market slump hit government finances.
A recent study of COVID-19 in the first year of the pandemic found that mild sufferers were 2.7 times more likely to suffer blood clots than normal, while those hospitalized were 22 times more likely to develop blood clots.
Canada’s central bank raised its main interest rate a smaller-than-expected 50 basis points Wednesday, saying it was getting closer to the end of its historic tightening campaign amid forecasts of stalling GDP growth.
The European Central Bank raised interest rates by 75 basis points when it met today.
Fitch ratings agency downgraded Argentina’s sovereign credit rating from CCC to CCC-, citing deep macroeconomic imbalances and risks over debt repayment.
Beer brewers Heineken and Carlsberg say global demand for beer could start to slow.
Quarterly earnings at the world’s largest grain companies are surging after months of crop shortages and global volatility.
New research suggests global temperatures will increase between 2.1°C and 2.9°C by the end of the century even if global climate promises are kept.
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