Chemical Industry Weekly News Round-Up, Feb. 25

This Week on CW:

BASF's profits rose as economic conditions continued to improve, and the company is optimistic about 2011.

At CW's annual India conference, speakers said the country is in position for exceptionally rapid growth. That includes a new world-scale steam cracker every year.

Dow is paying down $1.5 billion in debt this quarter, as part of its efforts to pay back borrowings used to fund the Rohm and Haas acquisition.

Evonik is expanding PEEK capacity in China.

Around the Web:

A venture capitalist is accuses big pharma of 'bad behavior' threatening the viability of the biotech space, in Xconomy.

A blogger at Seeking Alpha is optimistic about the outlook for the U.S. chemicals industry.

Is Jon Huntsman gearing up for a rumored presidential run? He's already set up his PAC. But he's still the Obama administration's ambassador to China – at least until April 30 – and he's apparently dropping in on riots in Beijing: