The reduction of CO2 emissions be possible? / Robert Douglas Cairns, Professor, McGill University

Along with phosphorus and nitrogen, potash constitutes one of the three nutrients used in the production of fertilizers. Although the factors that influence its demand are mostly common to other fertilizers and in large part determined by the agricultural market conditions, its supply depends on specific factors. Long known to be controlled by two production and export cartels, the potash market experienced a major change in 2013 with the end of the RussianBelarusian agreement. In a ...

West African countries, on top of which is Côte d’Ivoire, represent the bulk of the world supply of cocoa beans. From the end of the nineteenth century to their independence, and to recent times, their histories have been marked by boom and bust cycles that were sometimes desynchronized from one country to another, especially for Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, due to differentiated political and economic backdrops. As for now, cocoa producers seem to be insulated from the rout which has h ...

Rarement, la tendance sur les marchés mondiaux de matières premières et de commodités aura été aussi marquée qu’en 2015. Pratiquement tous les marchés se sont inscrits en baisse et celle-ci a été en général très forte à l’image de l’indice Cyclope-Rexecode en retrait en moyenne de 38 % en 2015 par rapport à 2014. Il est à la limite plus simple de citer les quelques produits pour lesquels le bilan de l’année a été positif : le cacao et de manière plus anecdotique le thé et l’huile d’ ...

The IMF recently revised down its growth forecasts, making large changes in the forecasts for some emerging markets, in particular Brazil and oil-producing countries (such as Nigeria and Saudi Arabia). This report presents a snapshot of the global unemployment outlook and discusses what the recent revisions could mean for the unemployment outlook for these countries based on past relationships between growth and unemployment. We conclude with a look at the growth-unemployment link f ...

Due to the existing geographical distance between the main consumption and production regions and the resulting significant logistical costs, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market has historically been structured around long-term supply contracts indexed to oil prices. With the recent development of shale gas and sluggish European growth, excess LNG supply now fosters the development of spot markets, particularly in Asia, by nature more flexible and disconnected from oil prices. In ...