Son Of U.K. Billionaire Steel Magnate Plunges To His Death

angelburst29

The Living Force
It would appear that Angad Paul, chief executive of Caparo Holdings is the latest “casualty” of the worldwide commodity downturn, the global deflationary supply glut, and the habitual exportation of deflation. Of course when the standing government policy is to roll over bad debt and avoid SOE defaults at all costs, uneconomic producers can and will continue to produce. This means the deflationary impulse ArcelorMittal cites isn’t likely to dissipate anytime soon.

(My comment - the Elite's extreme greed and policies to line their own pockets while crushing everyone "below them" is now backfiring into disinflation (the exact opposite of what DM central bankers intended when they decided to expand their balance sheets into the trillions) as global growth and trade enters a new era, characterized by a systemic slump in demand. )

Son Of Billionaire Steel Magnate Plunges To His Death Amid Demise Of UK Industry
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-11-10/son-billionaire-steel-magnate-plunges-his-death-amid-demise-uk-industry

Angad Paul, chief executive of Caparo Holdings, had done a lot of things in his 45 years. He created the world’s fastest road-legal car, for instance. The Caparo T1.

Aside from supercars and gangster movies, Paul was, to quote FT, one of the Midlands’ leading industrialists as the head of Caparo Holdings. He was the son of Lord Paul, the 84 year old billionaire steel magnate who’s one the UK’s wealthiest people. Paul replaced his father as CEO nearly two decades ago. He was married to lawyer Michelle Bonn, 40, in 2005, and lived at his family’s home in Marylebone with his parents, Lord and Lady Paul/

We’re using the past tense here because on Sunday, Paul tragically fell from “high up” at his home in London.

The timing of the “accident” raises questions. Caparo was placed in administration last month in what was characterized as a “shattering, devasting hammer blow” to the UK’s steel industry.


For those who might have missed it, The Telegraph reported the following in mid-October:

“The crisis in Britain’s steel industry could be about to claim another victim, with parts of Labour peer Lord Paul’s Caparo empire under enormous pressure.

Caparo Industries, a major producer of steel products with 1,800 staff across 20 sites, was understood to be looking at all funding options over the weekend.

Lord Paul – one of the country’s 50 wealthiest people, with a fortune estimated at £2bn – has a large stake in the privately-owned business through its parent company, Caparo Group.

And then, two days later, there was this (again from The Telegraph):

Britain’s beleaguered steel industry has been dealt a “shattering” and “devastating hammer” blow after Caparo Industries went into administration, with doubts over the future of its 1,700 staff.

The global business, which has about 20 sites in the Midlands as well as operations sites in India and the US, filed for administration as pressure on the steel industry intensifies.

The problems at Caparo, first revealed on Monday by The Telegraph, came ahead of an announcement expected on Tuesday from Tata that it will slash up to 1,200 jobs at its steel plants in Scunthorpe and Scotland. It follows the closure of SSI in Redcar with the loss of 2,000 jobs.

Britain’s largest union, Unite, warned of a “domino effect” in the steel industry, as it renewed calls for the Government to step in to support the sector following Caparo Industries’ collapse.

“This is yet another hammer blow for steel and manufacturing communities already reeling from the closure of Redcar and job losses at Tata,” said Tony Burke, the union’s general secretary. “Ministers need to ask themselves how many more steel firms need to go to the wall before they step in. Failure to act could lead to a ‘domino effect’ taking hold across the industry.”

Finally, more color from FT:

Caparo, which comprises about 20 companies, was placed in administration last month, leading to the loss of 323 jobs and the closure of Black Country plants at Darlaston, Dudley and West Bromwich.

Its activities range from the forging and pressing of metal products for aerospace, automotive and other industries. It also produces fastenings, wire, tubes and other accessories.

The UK company is part of a global network of businesses under the Caparo name, with operations in China, India and the US.

In addition to steel, Caparo’s global business is also involved in product development, materials testing services, hotels, media, furniture and interior design, financial services, energy and private equity investment.

PwC, the administrators, said at the time of their appointment that 1,700 West Midlands jobs were at risk.

It isn’t difficult to guess how this came about. Excess capacity in China (a topic we’ve covered exhaustively) and the now ubiquitous exported deflation effectively killed the industry:

Business Secretary Sajid Javid has called for an EU-wide emergency summit on steel. This is due to be held with the next fortnight. At the event he is expected to campaign for European consent to the UK’s early introduction of the energy compensation package and for co-ordinated EU action to stop China dumping excess steel on international markets.

As a reminder, ArcelorMittal just reported a massive loss attributable to the same dynamic. As we noted on Friday, the obvious implication of China’s excess capacity problem is that the country will simply export its deflation… (chart)

Here’s more from Bloomberg: The world’s biggest steelmaker on Friday cut its full-year profit target and suspended its dividend, putting the blame on the flood of cheap steel from China’s loss-making mills. The market is being overwhelmed with material coming from the nation’s state-owned and state-supported producers, a collection of industry associations said Thursday.

“It is obvious that we are operating in a very challenging market,” Chief Financial Officer Aditya Mittal said on a call with reporters. “This is essentially the result of very low export prices out of China that are impacting prices worldwide.”

The steel industry has been roiled by the slowest economic growth in two decades in China, the biggest consumer.

The flood of cheap exports from the nation has drawn complaints from Europe and the U.S. that the shipments are unfair. Bloomberg Intelligence estimates Chinese steel shipments overseas will exceed 100 million metric tons this year, more than the combined output of Europe’s top four producing countries.

While demand for steel in the company’s largest markets of the U.S. and Europe is recovering, producers’ profits are being hit by slumping prices because China has been pushing excess supply onto the world market as its economy slows.
 
angelburst29 said:
It would appear that Angad Paul, chief executive of Caparo Holdings is the latest “casualty” of the worldwide commodity downturn, the global deflationary supply glut, and the habitual exportation of deflation. Of course when the standing government policy is to roll over bad debt and avoid SOE defaults at all costs, uneconomic producers can and will continue to produce. This means the deflationary impulse ArcelorMittal cites isn’t likely to dissipate anytime soon.

Yes. It is an interesting one this. Reminds me of 19080s when Thatcher was in Government waging war on the Miners resulting in closure of mines. The speed at which the UK Steel industry is collapsing with the Conservatives at the helm is dramatic. Don't know much about Angad Paul's threat to the status quo if any, but I guess the headline is using his death as symbolic of the times.
 
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