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But we heard what Senator Obama had to say at the DNC about outsourcing. He said "he will stop giving tax breaks to companies that are sending jobs offshore and instead give them to companies who create jobs in America".

Could this lead to a retraction of outsourcing work to economies such as India? If yes, copper demand, such as in infrastructure development, might be impacted.

Paranapanema group will not use the copper produced by Vale in Brazil due to tax issues.

According to data released by the Shanghai-based nonferrous metals data provider Metalease, 18 major copper tube makers in China were operating at 35% capacity in January, in response to plummeting demand. Business activity has also been affected by the Chinese New Year festivities. The plants, which have a combined capacity of 978,000 t per year, consumed 28,000 t of refined copper in January compared to their consumption capacity of 81,500 t per month. Even though the Chinese government has increased the export tax rebate for copper tubes of diameter of less than 25 mm, the 18 copper tube producers exported only 21% of their total output in January, compared with 26% in December.

The Chinese government is supporting the copper industry by eliminating taxes on copper concentrate imports and finished copper products exports. China is the world's top copper consumer and according to Antaike Chinese copper consumption in 2009 will grow by 2.1%, revised down from its previous forecast of more than 6%. The duty-free trading policies will benefit copper smelters and fabricators, however, weak global demand will continue to take its toll on Chinese exports.

DOE Offers $2.4 Billion to Support Next-Generation Electric Vehicles President Barack Obama announced on March 19 that DOE is offering up to $2.4 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to support next-generation plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and their advanced battery components. Of the $2.4 billion, $1.5 billion in grants will go to U.S. manufacturers to produce high-efficiency batteries and their components; $500 million in grants will go to U.S. manufacturers to produce other components needed for electric vehicles, such as electric motors; and $400 million will go towards projects that demonstrate and evaluate plug-in hybrids and other electric infrastructure concepts. When these plug-in hybrid vehicles are offered for sale, U.S. residents who purchase them will be able to claim a tax credit of up to $7,500. Building a plug-in hybrid vehicle industry in the United States will create tens of thousands of jobs and will reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil.

El Sewedy Cables announced that it will establish a low-voltage power cable plant in Yemen. The investment of the project will amount to US$42M and it will be the first cable manufacturer in the country. The capacity of the plant will be 12,000t of copper and aluminium cables per annum. The project, to be build on government leased land and tax exempt for five years, will be a joint venture between El Sewedy Cables (70%) and Hassan & Masoud Abo Gaig (30%).

For the year ending March 31 2011, Hitachi Cable Ltd announced group revenue was Y419.3 billion up year-on-year from Y372.5 billion in 2010. Operating profit was Y788.0 million, compared to a loss of Y6.4 billion in 2010. The company said it had a pre tax profit loss of Y1.8 billion for the year, an improvement from 2010 when there was a pre tax profit loss of Y4.9 billion. In 2010 the company posted a net profit loss of Y9.1 billion; in 2011 there was a net profit loss of almost Y13 billion.

"He concludes that standard macroeconomic factors alone (growth, interest rates, global growth, and global financial market volatility) fail to fully explain the recent investment deceleration. He further concludes that while the importance of structural factors in explaining the recent weakening of aggregate investment is not entirely clear, at the micro level, panel data analysis suggests that improving the business environment by reducing costs of doing business, deepening the financial system, and developing infrastructure, could stimulate corporate investment." The IMF's (2013a) recent staff report on India argues that several causes of weaker growth seem to be of a supply-side nature. The following key factors are listed as possible contributors to the recent investment slowdown: Rising policy uncertainty. In particular, high profile tax policy decisions announced in the 2012/13 Budget have reduced foreign investors' interest in India, while the increasing difficulty of obtaining land use and environmental permits have raised regulatory uncertainty for infrastructure and other large-scale projects. Delayed project approvals and implementation. As a reaction to high-profile governance scandals, project approvals, clearances, and implementation have slowed sharply. Supply bottlenecks are particularly pronounced in mining and power, with attendant consequences for the broader economy, especially manufacturing.

"1. Chinese smelters are jointly calling on the government to scrap the 15% export tax on aluminium ingots, as they hope to benefit from a global market deficit. Yet many market participants cast doubts on the proposal as it is against Beijing's industrial policy on the light metal. 2. Beijing has cancelled approval requirement for aluminium smelting projects, but it continues to keep tight control over the sector, ordering local governments not to register new aluminium smelting..."

"In the first of a series of exclusive articles, James Gordon explores the latest developments in V2G systems and asks if the technology has the power to reshape global electricity distribution networks.…. It is the world's largest consumer of energy(1), and with over half of China's 1.3 billion population choosing to live in its sprawling and gridlocked super-cities, the demand for power has never been greater. But ensuring that the 680 million who live in China's megalopolises receive a steady stream of electricity is no easy task. However, while the solution - to install a network of long distance super-grids - has proved to be effective, it has come at great cost. This highly innovative smart grid infrastructure that the State Grid Corporation of China, has been specially designed to transmit ultra-high-voltage-direct-current (UHVDC) at over 600,000 volts to China's main population centres from rural areas rich in energy(2). America, India, Germany and Brazil are also incorporating UHDVC lines into their grids, but Britain, whose population is expected to grow from 64,875,165 (2015) to 77,568,588 by 2050(3), is only in the early stages of exploring the potential of the technology according to the Energy Networks Association. And while the UK's Utility giants may yet decide to invest billions of pounds in these high-tech super grids, a fully functioning next-generation Battery Electric Vehicle to Grid (V2G) charging system, located in Birmingham, the UK's second city, may mean they never need to. But how could this potentially game-changing technology, which has been installed at Aston University's European Bioenergy Research Institute (EBRI), one day save the National Grid and the tax-payer billions of pounds?"

* Aurubis Group, the large German copper smelter and semis producer, announced on 13th December that its operating earnings before tax for the fiscal year Q4 2011-Q3 2012, had increased to EUR296M from EUR292M the previous year (US$385.5M from US$380.3M). Despite the headline increase in profitability, which was driven by the group's smelting unit, Aurubis reported that profits from "copper products were considerably down on the prior-year level due to weak markets for rod and shapes." Operating profits at the group's semis business fell to EUR10.1M this fiscal year from EUR49.7M the prior year (US$13.2M from US$64.7M), with Aurubis citing "the economic influences of the European debt crisis" as a factor weighing on the demand for copper products. Aurubis reported that copper tube output had fallen by 18% to 646,000t in 2011/2012 from 785,000t in 2010/11, copper continuous cast shapes output had fallen by 17% to 164,000t from 197,000t , whilst the output of flat rolled products fared better with output roughly unchanged at 217,000t.

Aurubis, the Germany-based copper smelter and semis producer, announced increased operating earnings before tax of €140M (US$188M) in the final quarter of 2012*, compared to €86M in the previous year (US$116M). Despite an improved group level performance, Aurubis noted weaknesses in its copper semis business, saying "sales volumes were down on the previous year due to weak markets." The company attributed the weak sales to poor demand from Southern Europe and a typical seasonal slowdown in Q4, however, the company noted a slightly better environment in North America. In their outlook for the coming year, Aurubis said they expect weak conditions to remain in Europe in the coming months, but expect stronger demand from North America and the Far East. The company said that they are experiencing slower demand for wire used in automotive harnesses but hope that wirerod will replace some of the current weakness. In other semis sectors, Aurubis expects better global demand for flat-rolled products and stronger appetite for copper shapes outside of Europe.

Some Chinese copper producers may be eyeing exports following the removal of a 3% tax on toll-rolled exports in July. In an unprecedented move, some Chinese producers are said to be considering signing export contracts in a bid to stabilise revenues amidst a highly competitive domestic environment. Earlier trade data for September showed a sharp increase in China's export of refined copper, 214,789 tonnes in the first nine months of the year, up 40% from the equivalent figure in 2011.

The Italian association Assomet expects production of copper and copper alloy semis to fall by 2.4% in 2012, to 1.0Mt, mainly attributed to poor end-use demand, worsened by increases to housing and value-added taxes. Orders are erratic and the Italian copper semis production sector is currently operating at 50% capacity utilisation, whereas the copper alloy semis sector is slightly higher at 60%.

Demand impact

Crane Group, an Australian non-ferrous metals and plastic products manufacturer and distributor, announced revenue for the year ended 30th June 2008 of AUD$2,352m, a year-on-year increase of 7.6%. Net profit after tax before significant items rose to AUD$63.8m, an improvement of 18.2% on last year, thanks to strong results from the firm's plastic piping and distribution arms, Pipelines and Tradelink. Crane Copper Tube, the Group's non-ferrous metals division, reported EBIT of AUD$4.0m compared with a loss of AUD$2.5m last year. Revenue was up 2% to AUD$142m as stronger export sales helped offset subdued demand from the domestic plumbing market, according to Crane Group. "The lean manufacturing programme progressively introduced at CCT over the past two years continues to provide benefits in both productivity and working capital efficiency," said the company.