Home » Posts tagged 'baltic dry index' (Page 3)
Tag Archives: baltic dry index
One Last Look At The Real Economy Before It Implodes – Part 1
One Last Look At The Real Economy Before It Implodes – Part 1
We are only two months into 2015, and it has already proven to be the most volatile year for the economic environment since 2008-2009. We have seen oil markets collapsing by about 50 percent in the span of a few months (just as the Federal Reserve announced the end of QE3, indicating fiat money was used to hide falling demand), the Baltic Dry Index losing 30 percent since the beginning of the year, the Swiss currency surprise, the Greeks threatening EU exit (and now Greek citizens threatening violent protests with the new four-month can-kicking deal), and the effects of the nine-month-long West Coast port strike not yet quantified. This is not just a fleeting expression of a negative first quarter; it is a sign of things to come.
Stock markets are, of course, once again at all-time highs after a shaky start, despite nearly every single fundamental indicator flashing red. But as Zero Hedge recently pointed out in its article on artificial juicing of equities by corporations using massive stock buybacks, this is not going to last much longer, simply because the debt companies are generating is outpacing their ability to prop up the markets.
This conundrum is also visible in central bank stimulus measures. As I have related in past articles, the ability of central banks to goose the global financial system is faltering, as bailouts and low-interest-rate capital infusions now have little to no effect on overall economic performance. The fiat fuel is no longer enough; and when this becomes apparent in the mainstream, all hell will indeed break loose.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
World’s Largest Container-Shipper Warns Global Trade Is Slowing Down
World’s Largest Container-Shipper Warns Global Trade Is Slowing Down
While it will hardly come as a surprise to many, especially those who have followed the historic collapse of the Baltic Dry index to levels which, all else equal, signify a global depression of epic proportions…
… and which led South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilder, to report a $3 billion loss in 2014, the recent comments of the CEO of the world’s largest container-shipping group, Maersk Line, should put things into perspective, especially for those who say that the Baltic Dry is no longer indicative of anything but massively dry-bulk ship overbuilding and excess supply (some 8 years after the past cyclical peak).
Unfortunately, as Søren Skou, Maerk’s CEO, admitted when he warned that global trade growth could slow this year from recent 4% growth ratnes, as Chinese, Brazilian and Russian economies disappoint, the Baltic Dry is still not only relevant and accurate but telling the real story of global growth, or lack thereof.
As the FT reports, container demand rose by about 4% in both 2013 and 2014 and Maersk Line, the Danish group that ships about 15% of the world’s seaborne freight, expects it to increase 3 to 5% this year. Actually make it 3%. Or lower.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Two More Harbingers Of Financial Doom That Mirror The Crisis Of 2008
Two More Harbingers Of Financial Doom That Mirror The Crisis Of 2008
The stock market continues to flirt with new record highs, but the signs that we could be on the precipice of the next major financial crisis continue to mount.
A couple of days ago, I discussed the fact that the U.S. dollar is experiencing a tremendous surge in value just like it did in the months prior to the financial crisis of 2008. And previously, I have detailed how the price of oil has collapsed, prices for industrial commodities are tanking and market behavior is becoming extremely choppy.
All of these are things that we witnessed just before the last market crash as well. It is also important to note that orders for durable goods are declining and the Baltic Dry Index has dropped to the lowest level on record. So does all of this mean that the stock market is guaranteed to crash in 2015? No, of course not. But what we are looking for are probabilities. We are looking for patterns. There are multiple warning signs that have popped up repeatedly just prior to previous financial crashes, and many of those same warning signs are now appearing once again.
One of these warning signs that I have not discussed previously is the wholesale inventories to sales ratio. When economic activity starts to slow down, inventory tends to get backed up. And that is precisely what is happening right now. In fact, as Wolf Richter recently wrote about, the wholesale inventories to sales ratio has now hit a level that we have not seen since the last recession…
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
