Word: tinning
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...Compared with earlier days, there is less camaraderie and pack journalism, there are fewer collective safaris. The competition often borders on frenzy. The TV networks are under pressure to produce bang-bang. "Bang-bang," explains one network TV producer, "is the hook that gets it into the tin. A massacre will do it also." But the army and the guerrillas are not always cooperative. At times there is no bang-bang-at least the networks and still photographers can't find any, and it isn't for want of trying...
...fact, Malaysia has already begun a series of informal meetings with the goal of setting up a "Tinpec," a cartel similar to OPEC, that would attempt to control world supplies and prices of tin. It even wanted to supplant the London futures market with one of its own, in its capital city of Kuala Lumpur. As if to show that the cartel was already working, Malaysia announced this month that it plans to cut its production by 25%, to 45,000 tons, thus driving up the price...
...attempt to create a tin cartel is likely to founder on some hard economic realities. The metal is mainly used to plate the steel in so-called tin cans. Canning companies use tin because it resists corrosion that can be caused by acids often found in foods. Tin consumption, however, has been declining for years. More and more food is being packaged in sealed plastic pouches, and tin users are experimenting with such substitute materials as aluminum...
Another roadblock to Tinpec is the U.S., which has stockpiled 200,000 tons of the metal as a strategic reserve to be used in case of war. The tin was bought three decades ago for an average price of only $1.08 per Ib., and the General Services Administration in the past four months has sold 6,470 tons of it for up to $7.49 per Ib. Says Roy Markon, a GSA commissioner: "Why should we be worried about a contrived shortage? It is of great benefit to our sales program and good for the taxpayer...
...market showdown could come this week when speculators must deliver tin contracts that they have sold. Earlier this month, the London Metal Exchange eased its financial requirements, limiting he amount of money traders can lose. If the speculators are forced to liquidate more of their holdings, however, the Malaysians will have an opportunity to buy additional tin. The larger questions that remain unanswered are whether Malaysia and the other major producers can maintain an artificially high price for tin, and whether a residue of political bitterness will continue over the Reagan Administration's attempt to inject an element...