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EMISSIONS: Real-world vehicle fuel consumption gap in Europe is stabilizing

  • Date: 10-01-19
  • Category: EMISSIONS
  • Source: ICCT

For the first time in years, the discrepancy between passenger vehicle type-approval test results and in-use fuel consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions did not increase, indicating a stabilization at around 39 per cent

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AUTO SALES: China's Car Sales Just Fell for First Time in Over 20 Years

  • Date: 09-01-19
  • Category: AUTO SALES
  • Source: Bloomberg

The growth engine for the world’s car industry has been thrown into reverse, with China recording the first annual slump in auto sales in more than two decades -- though progress in trade talks with the U.S. and planned government incentives offer a ray of optimism.

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MACROECONOMICS: Germany Isn’t Floundering, Despite the Data

After Tuesday’s disappointing industrial output data, the German economy could be headed for a technical recession – two consecutive quarters of negative growth. “Technical,” however, is the operative word; the country isn’t really in trouble, at least not yet, and the worrying data are driven by a single regulatory change that has wreaked havoc on the domestic car industry.

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PALLADIUM: Palladium Just Smashed Another Record

  • Date: 08-01-19
  • Category: PALLADIUM
  • Source: Bloomberg

Palladium’s premium to platinum jumped to a record, building on its ranking as the best-performing metal of 2018.

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LITHIUM: Albemarle starts earthworks at WA lithium plant

  • Date: 08-01-19
  • Category: LITHIUM
  • Source: Mining Weekly

Albemarle has started earthworks at the Kemerton strategic industrial area, in Western Australia, after receiving all the required federal and state government environmental approvals for the planned Kemerton lithium hydroxide plant.

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ELECTRONICS: BASF tech leaked to China by workers, authorities say

TAIPEI -- A Chinese company allegedly obtained chipmaking material secrets leaked by current and former employees of German chemical group BASF, a vital supplier to global semiconductor makers including Intel and Samsung Electronics, Taiwanese authorities said on Monday.

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MACROECONOMICS: German Factory Orders Slip as Euro-Area Demand Deteriorates

German factory orders fell more than expected in November, though the numbers were distorted by airplane orders that masked signs of underlying momentum.

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CHINA: Goldman Sounds the China Alarm and Cuts Metals Outlook

  • Date: 07-01-19
  • Category: CHINA
  • Source: Bloomberg

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. chopped back its near-term metals forecasts as China’s economy has “decelerated notably,” while balancing that outlook with a prediction mainland policy makers will respond by stoking expansion in the second half, aiding a revival in copper and aluminum.

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