European and Asian polymers fall, US mixed. WTI and Brent Crude rise

European polymer prices continued to fall over the week to 10th July. There were reductions of between 75 and 250 EUR per tonne reported in the prices of HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE, Polypropylene, PVC, ABS and Polystyrene.   Asian polymers also fell with reductions of between 5 and 140 USD per tonne reported in the prices […]

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China sentences official to death for taking bribes

A court in eastern China has sentenced a former city official to death for taking more than 2.2bn yuan ($325m) in bribes over 30 years.   Yang Youlin, who served in various positions in Nanjing city from 1993 to 2023, was also convicted of embezzlement, abuse of power and money laundering, with his ill-gotten gains […]

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Report shows plastic packaging rising across 19 EU countries

Plastic packaging was the only packaging material to record growth across 19 EU member states between 2011 and 2025, according to a study published by the Joint Research Centre (JRC).   The research covered countries representing more than 97% of the EU population and examined packaging placed on the market across glass, plastic, metals, paper […]

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Ineos urges EU support for chemical industry

Ineos Chairman, Jim Ratcliffe is urging the European Union to protect its chemical industry, warning that nearly 200 chemical plants have closed in Europe over the past five years and blaming Chinese overcapacity, high energy costs and carbon taxes.   In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Ratcliffe called chemicals a […]

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Exxon to change name following head office move

Exxon Mobil Corp. will become ExxonMobil Holdings Corp. following its move to Texas from New Jersey, marking the company’s first name change since the Mobil merger over 25 years ago.   Each share of Exxon will be exchanged for a share in the new holding company. The new stock will begin trading under the existing […]

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Ineos accuses US of dumping cheap plastic in UK

Chemicals giant Ineos has accused its US rivals of dumping cheap plastic into the UK market, putting tens of thousands of British jobs at risk.   Ineos, owned by billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, said that since US chemicals suppliers began lowering their prices in 2023, Britain’s imports had doubled.   US market share of Britain’s […]

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US hospitality jobs fall in June despite World Cup

A World Cup jobs boom in the US has failed to materialise, with employment in restaurants, bars and hotels falling in June.   Analysts had expected the tournament, being hosted jointly by the US, Canada and Mexico, to lead to an increase in leisure and hospitality jobs.   But the sector saw a decline of […]

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European, Asian and US polymers fall. WTI and Brent Crude fall

European polymer prices continued to fall over the week to 26th June. There were reductions of between 25 and 115 EUR per tonne reported in the prices of HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE, PET, Polypropylene and Polystyrene.   Asian polymers fell with reductions of between 20 and 90 USD per tonne reported in the prices of HDPE, […]

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Trump threatens 100% tariff on European nations over tech tax

US president, Donald Trump has vowed to impose a 100% import tariff on any European country that introduces a digital services tax on American technology giants.   Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump said “Numerous European countries” had been discussing bringing in such a levy and some were close to doing so.   He […]

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