China's stunning economic growth in recent years, particularly in the manufacturing sector, has increased the country's demand for energy and other commodities, which has affected wider global commodity markets in complex ways.
A new study sponsored by four organizations representing steel producers documents the artificial advantages fueling the unprecedented 170% growth rate of the Chinese steel industry from 2000 to 2005. The China Syndrome: How Subsidies and Government Intervention Created the World's Largest Steel Industry details the impact on the U.S. economy of subsidies in the form of tax refunds, cash grants, preferential loans, currency manipulation, discounted interest rates and other preferential Chinese policies on the competitiveness of the international steel market.
California Assembly Bill 1953, which calls for the reduction of lead content in plumbing pipes, fittings and fixtures to no more than 0.25%, passed the state House by one vote
Al Rushaid Group (Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and Flowserve Corp. ratified an agreement to build the largest OEM pump repair, manufacturing and training facility in the Middle East.