Global Macro Perspectives
Baltic dry index rose 6.0% last week; Capesize Index was up 14.1%; Panamax Index rose 4.8%; Supramax and Handysize Indexes lost 5.5% and 1.2% respectively. China steel prices ticking up, bringing some demand to the shipping markets. Chart 1. Baltic Dry Indexes Relative Performance Chart 2. Baltic Dry Index Chart 3. Baltic Dry Index Components […]
Equities Economic data released in recent month or so is on a absolute and relative basis weak. The difference from July is that the consensus has moved downwards, so the markets focuses on comparing actual data with consensus and disregarding absolute levels. But we are here to earn some money, not waste our time on […]
Baltic dry index fell 1.6% last week; Capesize Index fell 3.6%; Panamax Index fell also 3.6%; Supramax and Handysize Indexes gained 1.6% and 1.0% respectively. I added 3 new charts below. Iron ore and steel inventory (5 cities only, but I think it should work as a proxy) and iron ore price. The fundamentals are […]
Equities Economic data released in recent month or so is dominated by bellow consensus readings and on absolute level pointing to only marginal and slowing growth. Consumer demand proxies point to deceasing level of consumer demand. Unemployment is high and it is not falling. The government stimulus is wearing off. But the market is rising despite all of that […]
As I wrote in Dry Bulk Weekly it appears that Chinese removal of steel export tax rebates is a complete game changer for the industry. The slowdown in Chinese iron ore imports is easing port congestion which tied approximately 20% of the world fleet a few weeks ago. The port congestion has since then eased by […]
Baltic dry index fell 16.6% last week; The hardest hit were Panamaxes with 20.6% loss; Capesizes lost 20.0% ; Handysizes and Supramaxes lost 10.3% and 8.9%. Chinese tax rebates on hot-rolled coil and some cold-rolled coil and galvanized products will be removed starting July 15. This makes Chinese steel exports uncompetitive and it is moving the markets. Chinese steel […]
From Metal Bulletin: Quarterly, spot or swap — which iron ore contract to choose? Tom Albanese’s admission that Rio Tinto may abandon quarterly iron ore pricing, should the majority of steel mills default to the spot market, could benefit the emerging market for over-the-counter iron ore swaps. Macquarie Research believes third quarter contract prices will be […]
Baltic dry index fell 8.8% last week; The hardest hit were Panamaxes with 19.6% loss; Supramaxes lost 6.0% ; Handysizes and Capesizes lost 5.4% and 3.3% . It looks like the Baltic Dry Index was not bottoming last week after all. Panamaxes which were more stable sector than the Capsize sector played catchup and collapsed. That was not […]
Almost unchanged from June. Equities Only extremely favorable economic data could change the negative trend established. This is highly unlikely. So I would say we will soon see S&P 500 at 875. On a macro level, the stimulus is wearing off, politicians and central bankers are not ready to continue with loose fiscal an monetary policies, just the opposite, austerity is the game. […]
Bloomberg story: Baosteel Scales Back Expansion Target by 38% as China Seeks Capacity Curbs. China, the biggest steelmaking nation, has pulled back from encouraging mills to get as large as global leader ArcelorMittal as it sought to shutter old plants, curb pollution and power demand. Chinese steelmakers are likely to cut output in the third […]
Little late…but better late then never… Equities Only extremely favorable economic data could change the negative trend established. This is highly unlikely. So I would say we will soon see S&P 500 at 900. On a macro level, the stimulus is wearing off, politicians and central bankers are not ready to continue with loose fiscal an monetary policies, just the opposite, austerity is […]
Equities With my 1,200 S&P 500 target reached I’ve moved to a kind of a ambiguous stance to the markets. Now I believe the equity markets are bound for a 10%+ down move at least. My mid-term view remains unchanged – this is just a bear market rally; U.S. and E.U. economies will experience same […]
Equities Although I’m convinced that the economy is not pulling a V-shaped almost everywhere except in China and in their commodity based economy satellites I believe that in the short term the equity gains will continue. I have a 1200 S&P 500 target. I have only a small exposure to the markets (via a June […]
Equities In the macro arena we have leading indicators rolling over, and a stream of worse-than-expected data pieces on U.S. housing, U.S. employment, U.S. durable goods ordered and large move lower by consumer confidence. Seems that the markets do not appreciate the data. Things that move the markets are only FED policy on rates, dollar […]
Equities We have seen a meaningful correction in equities in recent couple of weeks, we have a market that fails to react to presumably good news, we have low levels of cash in equity mutual funds and still high number of bulls; high beta stocks suffered massively; For me this is a setup for reversal, […]