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June 2009

Consumer Confidence Disappoints, Shipping Stocks Suffer

As I highlighted in my column on TheStreet.com on Monday shipping stocks will be highly susceptible to any major economic news impacting market’s views on the long-term outlook. This mornings consumer confidence number was proof of that, tumbling to 49.3 compared to 54.8 last month. Both the present situation index and the future situation index […]

US Week Ahead: It’s all about the jobs!

Despite the shortened work week, we have a rather busy schedule of US economic data releases, climaxing with Thursday’s US employment data. Last month’s payroll data caught the market by surprise coming in well above expectations, demonstrating the lowest level of job losses since September 2008. But, the big question remains, was this start of […]

FFA Market Rises

Forward Freight Agreements (FFAs), especially for capesize contracts, appreciated significantly today leading to strong trading in the dry bulk sector. BDI FFA Curve Source: Imarex BCI FFA Curve Source: Imarex Market and Sector Performance:Source: Bloomberg, my calculations, Capital Link Shipping

Brazilian Iron Ore Exports Drop in May

A recent release by Brazilian officials showed that iron ore exports fell to 15.3mn tones in May, a drop of 35% from last month and a 2009 low. This is likely due to diminishing demand by the country’s largest custom, China. A note released by Goldman Sachs confirms this theory stating, “Heavy rains in the […]

Swine Flu

If anyone is interested here is a piece I recently published on H1N1 for a patient advocacy group: http://patientsandpatents.wordpress.com/2009/06/02/a-historical-view-of-flu-pandemics-a-reason-to-remain-vigilant/ Additionally, if you find that interesting you may also enjoy this supplemental piece, which highlights companies that could benefit in the unfortunate event of a H1N1 resurgence.http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=38fadb7a58ef4addc245a451e474b8a1