Employment in the US surged unexpectedly last month, easing fears that the economy might be heading for a sudden, sharp downturn.   Employers in the US added 254,000 jobs in September, much more than expected, while the jobless rate dipped from 4.2% to 4.1%, the Labor Department said.   That was the strongest gain since […]

Russia’s Prosecutor General has filed a lawsuit against a number of energy majors, court documents revealed last week.   The lawsuit, filed with Moscow’s Arbitration Court on 2nd October, was addressed to eight Shell units. The documents indicated it had been launched by Gazprom Export, the Russian energy ministry, regional authorities on the Pacific island […]

The UK has stopped producing any electricity from burning coal, ending its 142-year reliance on the fossil fuel.   The country’s last coal power station, at Ratcliffe-on-Soar, finished operations at the end of September after running since 1967.   This marks a major milestone in the country’s ambitions to reduce its contribution to climate change. […]

European polymer prices were mixed over the week to 4th October. There were reductions of 10 and 50 EUR per tonne reported in the prices of ABS and Polystyrene. There was an increase of 10 EUR per tonne noted in the price of PVC. In the UK, prices fell against most grades as the Pound […]

Toyota is pushing back the start date for electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing in the US, as global demand for battery-powered cars continues to soften.   The Japanese motor industry giant was aiming to start production in late 2025 or early 2026.   Toyota now expects to launch its US EV operation at an unspecified time […]

Tens of thousands of dockworkers have gone on strike indefinitely at ports across much of the US, threatening significant trade and economic disruption ahead of the presidential election and the busy holiday shopping season.   Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) walked out on Tuesday at 14 major ports along the east and gulf […]

A £1bn development of a former paper mill could “completely transform recycling levels in the UK”, its owner has claimed.   Up to 2,000 contractors are working to transform Shotton Mill in Flintshire into one of the UK’s largest cardboard and tissue production facilities, which it is hoped will start operating next year.   Turkish […]

European polymer prices were mixed over the week to 27th September. There were increases of 5 and 20 EUR per tonne reported in the prices of PVC and LDPE. There were reductions of between 5 and 50 EUR per tonne noted in the prices of PET, Polypropylene and ABS. In the UK, prices fell against […]

China’s central bank has unveiled a major package of measures aimed at reviving the country’s flagging economy.   People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Governor, Pan Gongsheng, announced plans to lower borrowing costs and allow banks to increase their lending.   The move comes after a series of disappointing data has increased expectations in recent months […]

California’s attorney general is suing ExxonMobil, alleging the oil giant engaged in a “decades-long campaign of deception” about the effectiveness of plastics recycling.   In the civil lawsuit filed on Monday, Attorney General Rob Bonta accused Exxon of contributing to a “deluge” of plastic pollution, while telling Californians that recycling was a fix.   “For […]