Apple’s biggest supplier, Foxconn, says its revenue last month fell by 11.65% compared to the same period in 2022 due to weaker demand for electronics.   However, February revenue was more than $13bn, the second highest figure on record for the month.   Foxconn added that operations at the world’s biggest iPhone factory in the […]

Xi Jinping is set to deepen his control of China’s government and economy, as lawmakers meet in Beijing to pass far-reaching reforms.   The National People’s Congress (NPC), a rubber-stamp parliament, will confirm Mr Xi’s third term as president, and the appointments of his top team.   They will also name a new premier, the […]

European polymer prices were unchanged over the week to 3rd March. In the UK, prices rose across most grades as the Pound lost value against the Euro.   Asian polymers were mixed with reductions of 5 and 10 USD per tonne reported in the prices of LLDPE and PET. In China, the prices of LLDPE, […]

Manufacturers in Asia’s two biggest economies are performing very differently after the pandemic.   Factory activity in China expanded last month at the fastest pace in more than a decade, official figures show.   However, in Japan manufacturing activity shrank in February at the fastest pace in over two years.   Firms around the world […]

Tesla is planning to build a new factory in Mexico, joining other carmakers bulking up their presence south of the US border.   Mexico President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said the plant for the electric car firm would be in Monterrey, which is about a three-hour drive from Texas.   Tesla is expected to share […]

Australian firm Recharge Industries has bought the defunct battery maker Britishvolt out of administration.   Britishvolt had planned to build a £4bn battery plant near the Port of Blyth in Northumberland, UK but it collapsed last month after running out of money.   Its downfall was blamed on a lack of battery experience, proven technology, […]

European polymer prices rose over the week to 24th February with increases of 5 and 20 EUR per tonne reported in the prices of LDPE and PVC. In the UK, prices fell across some grades as the Pound gained value against the Euro.   Asian polymers fell with reductions of between 10 and 35 USD […]

Chemical maker INEOS is entering into U.S. oil and gas production for the first time, agreeing to purchase assets in South Texas from Chesapeake Energy Corp for $1.4 billion, the companies confirmed this week.   The deal would give INEOS, run by billionaire businessman Jim Ratcliffe, access to the natural gas that is key to […]

Japanese motor industry giants Toyota and Honda say they have agreed to give their workers in the country the largest pay rises in decades.   They are the latest firms in the world’s third largest economy to increase wages as prices jump.   Official figures published last month showed Japan’s rate of inflation was at […]

Russia’s economy shrank last year by less than had been expected given its invasion of Ukraine, figures suggest.   The economy contracted by 2.1%, according to the country’s statistics agency, but this was less than an earlier prediction of a 12% fall.   While questions have been raised about the reliability of the data, many […]