Archive for December, 2008
Best course, Chapter 11 or Bail out, who decides?
There has been plenty written about the bailout of the Detroit automakers. From my understanding about 61% of Americans are against this bailout. It appears our elected government officials are of mixed opinion as well. The following is an article from Dec. 16th’s Wall Street Journal. What do you think? Should our government bail out [...]
Corus threatens to quit EU to avoid carbon regime
The Independent reported that Mr Philippe Varin CEO of Corus is threatening to shift the steel maker’s European operations to China unless regulations governing carbon emissions are overhauled. He warned that politicians had to help fund new clean energy technologies or face the prospect of Corus quitting the UK and Europe. Mr Varin, who is [...]
China’s the Underdog in ’09 Iron Ore Talks
Best of luck to Chinese steelmakers pushing the notion that iron ore prices should be dialed back to 1994 to account for the collapse in their markets. One should always root for the underdog, after all. Informal talks have just begun for the 2009 iron ore contract between China’s steel makers — collectively the world’s [...]
POSCO plans record 2009 investment of 4.3 billion
No. 4 steel maker POSCO will nearly double domestic investment to a record $4.3 billion next year, in a bold contrarian bet that it can grab market share from shrinking rivals once the world economy begins growing again. Even as others slash spending to brace for the worst recession in decades, South Korea‘s second-biggest firm [...]
Scrap market appears to have stabilized
The US scrap market remains quiet with prices sitting at the same levels reported nearly two weeks ago in Steel Business Briefing. Sources indicate the market may have hit bottom last month. Busheling scrap continues to take a back seat to shredded scrap. Whereas busheling was selling for $300 a long ton more than shredded [...]
Closed for the Holidays
While the overwhelming sense of the market is gloomy, there are a few things to remember. First, the 4th quarter is typically the slowest quarter and December is usually very slow, even in a good year. Because of the Christmas holidays and New Year’s celebrations and other international celebrations, a good two work weeks are [...]
Coal Pits: Recession Sends Coal Prices Plunging
Posted by Keith Johnson Need another reason to believe that the economic slowdown is bad news for the environment? Don’t get burned (AP) The collapsing auto and construction sectors have sideswiped steel makers around the world (leading to massive layoffs and production cuts at U.S. Steel and ArcelorMittal). With demand from steel makers in free-fall, [...]
ArcelorMittal Brasil sends workers on collective vacations
After announcing output cuts and the advancing of maintenance stoppages at some of its Brazilian mills, ArcelorMittal told Steel Business Briefing it has started to run a programme of collective vacations. At its Juiz de Fora works in Minas Gerais state, 65% of the 1,100 workers will go on vacation on 10 December, coming back [...]
