By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON, July 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. economy suffered its biggest blow since the Great Depression in the second quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic shattered consumer and business spending, and a nascent recovery is under threat from a resurgence in new cases of coronavirus. The bulk of the deepest contraction in at least 73 years reported by the Commerce … [Read more...]
Globalization of the World Economy Hits a Wall
By Justin Fox (Bloomberg View) -- For the first time since early 2014, the dollar value of goods imported and exported by the G20 countries actually grew a little in the second quarter of this year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reported last week. This is probably just because oil prices bounced back a bit after hitting a 12-year low in the … [Read more...]
Brexit Won’t Stop Globalization (or shipping)
by Michael Schuman (Bloomberg) Globalization—that irresistible force that is inevitably, inexorably fueled by large ships—looks to be in retreat. Trade growth has never recovered to the levels reached before the 2008 financial crisis. Donald Trump is fueling his presidential campaign on fear of free trade and immigration. The economic problems of the U.S., he blasted … [Read more...]
Does Shipping Tell the Real Story of China? You Should Hope Not
By Manisha Jha (Bloomberg) -- Investors betting that China’s near- insatiable appetite for industrial raw materials will drive global economic growth may want to skip the shipping news. For the first time in at least a decade, combined seaborne imports of iron ore and coal -- commodities that helped fuel a manufacturing boom in the world’s second-largest economy -- are … [Read more...]
Global Container Ship Market Weathers the Economic Storm
By Eric Uhlfelder, Barron's Cargo shippers are in the tank, thanks to slowing global economic growth and oversupplies of dry-bulk ships, which transport iron ore, coal and grains, and of tankers, which transport crude oil and petroleum products. The one segment of ocean-going vessels that remains afloat is container ships. Douglas Mavrinac, who heads the maritime group at … [Read more...]