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What's the Difference Between White
Chocolate and Brown Chocolate?
One big difference is that white
"chocolate" doesn't really exist.
The Food and Drug Administration,
which regulates all the ingredients,
properties and definitions of
chocolate, does not recognize the
existence of white chocolate. So it
would seem that white chocolate is
not really chocolate at all. Because
there isn't any legal definition of
white chocolate, manufacturers are
not restricted to the type and
amount of ingredients that are
incorporated into the white
chocolate recipe.
In practice, there is only one
difference between white and brown
chocolate - brown chocolate contains
cocoa powder. Chocolate comes from
the cocoa bean, which is ground into
chocolate liquor (not alcoholic) and
then split under pressure into 2
parts: cocoa butter and cocoa
powder. To manufacture brown
chocolate, the chocolate liquor is
mixed with additional cocoa butter,
which provides that
"melt-in-your-mouth" flavor. To
manufacture white chocolate, cocoa
butter is usually mixed with sugar.
Because cocoa butter is tan in
color, the term "white" is given to
it.
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Several major pharmaceutical companies have
announced that they will reduce their
workforces in order to cut costs.
AstraZeneca will cut about 10 percent of its
employee base (7,600 jobs) and expects to
save $900 million per year beginning in 2010
as a result. The restructuring plan of
Bristol-Myers Squibb includes workforce
reductions in conjunction with
rationalization of some facilities,
according to the company. Details will be
provided by the end of 2007. Johnson &
Johnson will cut around 4 percent of its
employee base with the aim of saving $1.3 to
$1.6 billion in 2008.
A federal judge in Boston ruled that
Mircera, an anti-anemia drug
produced by Roche Holding AG,
infringes upon a composition of
matter patent held by Amgen Inc.
Mircera is currently undergoing
regulatory review in the U.S. A
trial will proceed to determine if
Amgen's claims that Mircera violates
additional patents are also valid.
Roche disagrees with the judge's
decision, disputes Amgen's other
claims and has said that the Amgen
patents are invalid. Roche received
an approvable letter for Mircera
from the U.S. FDA in May 2007 and
intends to begin selling Mircera
immediately upon final approval,
which could come in mid-September,
even if the patent dispute with
Amgen is not settled.
European chemical firms have
reported positive results for the
first six months of 2007 as compared
to the same period during the
previous year. These improvements
are attributed to hikes in sales
prices and volumes combined with
reduced costs. Linde increased its
net income by more than a factor of
two based on a sales increase of 12
percent. Profits at Cognis climbed
30 percent excluding refinancing
charges. Sales at Croda tripled
while profits rose by 32 percent.
Elementis achieved a 31 percent
growth in net income despite a 6
percent drop in sales. Altana
doubled its net income, while Bachem
achieved a 31 percent increase.
Sales at Siegfried Group rose 9
percent and operating income jumped
by 18 percent.
Lower crude and Naphtha prices in
early August resulted in declining
spot prices for key petrochemicals
in Europe. Prices for Benzene
dropped 7 percent or more. Lower
demand combined with the drop in
crude prices affected both Toluene
and Xylene, which experienced
significant price decreases in
Europe. Toluene prices did stabilize
somewhat by the end of the month,
when supply and demand were brought
more into balance. Styrene was not
affected like other aromatics and
generally resisted the downward
price pressure. Contract prices for
olefins, however, were already
established for the third quarter
and therefore remained unaffected.
Spot prices for Ethylene and
Propylene were largely driven by a
tightness in supply.
The reduction of VAT tax rebates on
over 2,000 products exported from
China, many of which are chemicals,
has left producers afraid that the
loss of their low cost position will
significantly impact their ability
to compete in the global
marketplace. The aim of the
government is to discourage
production of low value products
manufactured using energy and
resource intensive processes with
significant negative environmental
impact and encourage the shift
toward production of high value,
downstream chemicals manufactured
with efficient processes. With
export rebates reduced, the cost
savings on materials from China in
many cases will no longer be large
enough to offset the often poorer
quality profiles of the chemicals
available for export. While some
producers may simply try raising
prices, other are expected to
improve product quality as a means
for justifying price increases.
The National Petroleum Employer's
Association in South Africa signed
an agreement with the Chemical,
Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and
Allied Workers Union (CEPPWAWU) to
accept a wage increase of 8.5
percent, ending a strike by nearly
40,000 petroleum workers. The strike
resulted in the shut down of several
refineries.
Many European chemical manufacturers
will be delisting from the New York
Stock Exchange in order to avoid the
complexity and rising reporting
costs introduced by the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The growing
importance of global financial
reporting under accepted
international financial reporting
standards (IFRS) rules is another
driver for the move. The IFRS rules
tend to be less prescriptive than
U.S. requirements. 
During the months of August and
September, government agencies in
China expected to investigate
approximately 1,500 pesticide
manufacturers to evaluate their
compliance with regulations
regarding five pesticide products
that were banned in January 2007.
Since 2003, the government has
provided $132 million (CNY 1
billion) to producers to help them
switch to alternative pesticides.
The particular products that were
banned were highly toxic and
damaging to the environment. The
Ministry of Agriculture believes
that there are currently about 10
producers manufacturing the products
for export purposes.
Production issues at Lyondell's
380,000 tonne/year Vinyl acetate
monomer (VAM) plant in La Port,
Texas resulting from heavy rain and
flooding have affected availability
of the material in Europe. Prior to
this difficulty, Europe was already
faced with the unexpected stoppage
of production at BP's plant in Hull,
UK and the forced closure of
Celanese's 1.2 million tonne/year
Acetic acid plant at Clear Lake,
Texas, which lasted almost three
months. Planned maintenance
shutdowns in September and October
are expected to add to the tightness
in supply. European spot prices are
rising as the tightness increases.
An anticipated increase in demand in
downstream markets in September has
many in Europe wondering how high
prices might climb. Some are
predicting continued high pricing
though the end of 2007, while others
expect that once supply returns to
normal, pricing will follow.
ICI agreed to accept a $16.3 billion
(GBP 8 billion) cash offer from Akzo
Nobel after declining two earlier
offers that were deemed to
undervalue ICI. Third party Henkel
has agreed to purchase the National
Starch and Chemical adhesives and
electronic chemicals businesses from
Akzo Nobel once the deal closes,
which is expected to be in November
or December 2007. The acquisition
provides Akzo with a stronger
position in the architectural
coatings market as well as a greater
presence in the Asia Pacific region
and North America. The company
anticipates achieving savings
through scale effects, streamlining
of operations and synergies in
administrative and corporate
activities. 
Industry players predict that paint
demand in China will remain robust
despite the recent toy recalls.
Trade disputes generally take
considerable time to address, so any
negative impact would not be
anticipated for some time. In
addition, some players believe that
demand for paint might rise as toy
manufacturers purchase paints and
pigments for reproduction of the
recalled toys before Christmas.
Rosstat, the Russian national
statistical agency, reported that
the country increased production of
fertilizers and other petrochemical
products in the first seven months
of 2007 as compared to the same
period a year ago. Mineral
fertilizer output rose by just over
11 percent, while plastics and
synthetic resins production was up
over 17 percent. Synthetic rubber
manufacture grew 3 percent.
Chemicals produced in quantities
over 25,000 pounds - more than 9,000
of them - will be tested to
determine and control environmental
risks as part of a new agreement
between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
The three countries also agreed to
coordinate management of chemicals
in North America. By 2012, the U.S.
must complete risk assessments and
take appropriate action to address
any concerns regarding these
"moderate volume" chemicals.
Specific actions were not described.
By 2020, all three countries will
establish and maintain current
information on chemical inventories.
The high production volume (HPV)
testing program in the U.S. and the
chemical management program in
Canada will serve as a basis for the
agreement. 
