We all know that demand for commodities is cyclical. For about 200 hundred years, commodities have followed a broad pattern. They tend to rise for about a decade followed by two decades of decline. If this pattern is any indication, it is most likely that the commodity super-cycle has come to its end. The commodity super-cycle of the last decade was heralded by the massive investment-driven growth of China. The dragon nation's colossal appetite had blown commodity prices off the roof. But the world economy has gone through a sea of change over the last few years. The developed economies are gripped with problems of high sovereign debt and slowing economic growth. In recent months, China is also showing clear sign s of cooling. Its commodity-intensive growth phase is nearing its end. Does this mean that we're gearing towards two decades of commodity decline? This is impossible to predict. But the decline seems certain nonetheless. Commodity-rich economies such as...

Ajay Piramal is, yet again, buying to build. The last time, he bought physical assets. This time, he’s investing in intellectual property, and the hard work begins now, reports Deepali Gupta     It’s the nineties show again at Piramal Healthcare. The 17,000 crore that Ajay Piramal earned for the company in September 2010 by selling its drug-formulations business was built on acquisitions big and small. He is now deploying that cash pile and, once again, he is buying pharmaceutical assets to build. But there’s a difference, a crucial one, in what Piramal is buying. If the nineties were about establishing linkages to make and sell copycat drugs, his initial flourishes of what could be another buying spree is about adding intellectual property. “Our new vision is owning intellectual property and converting it to products,” says chairman Ajay Piramal. If the physical manifestation of the first buying binge was functional factories and trav...