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    Analysis

    October 31, 2016

    Final Thoughts

    Written by John Packard

    I want to spend a few moments to discuss an issue that I know is a sore point to the CEO’s at the steel mills. Lourenco Goncalves brought it up in a discussion we had this morning and that is why service centers (and others) do not sign or allow comments made to Steel Market Update and other periodicals to be quoted with the name of the person being cited. I can understand their angst as it is hard to read criticism about your company without having a reference point from where it came. At the same time, those that buy steel do not want their comments to negatively impact the relationship between their company and their suppliers. In the case of a middle level executive providing information there is always the concern that if who was providing the information leaked, someone could lose their job.

    So, we have to act just like the newspapers and TV stations covering the election where, for example, FBI sources are telling reporters of investigations into Hillary Clinton as well as into the former head of the Trump campaign, whose relationship with the Russians is being investigated. Lots of information coming out and you have to determine what source to believe or to take with a grain of salt…

    John Packard

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