The Economist – Page 4
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No upside to downward spiral of tariffs
COMMENT: In recent months, global trade projections for 2018 were being upgraded almost as quickly as they were downgraded in previous years. Confidence had returned, and consumers and industry were keen to import and export goods, writes Ben Hackett.
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NewsTariff war threat is real
COMMENT: It seems that a sense of madness has descended on the Trump administration and, in response, Europe is joining the madness, writes Ben Hackett.
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NewsOvercoming the Davos hype
COMMENT: The 48th meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos from January 23 to January 26 generated a huge amount of optimism about world growth prospects, with business leaders and heads of state falling over themselves to highlight their contributions and views, writes Ben Hackett.
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NewsEconomic growth won't save everyone
COMMENT: World trade is on a roll with growth not seen since 2010 and for a change it is synchronised across all major economies, writes Ben Hackett.
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Forging Chinese connections
COMMENT: Much of the major port and terminal investments over the past ten to fifteen years have been made by private and corporatised companies from the likes of DP World, PSA, ICTSI and SSA Marine, as well as from firms linked to carriers such as APM Terminals (Maersk), Terminal Link ...
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The lemmings are back
COMMENT: The shipping industry is an interesting one; it is one of the least concentrated industries around with far too many players in virtually all sectors, writes Ben Hackett.
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NewsCarriers questionable logic
COMMENT: Liner shipping seems to function on the basis of a merry-go-round logic when it comes to economic rationale, writes Ben Hackett.
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A pinch of salt needed
COMMENT: We live in a disrupted world where President Donald Trump in America is seemingly intent on destroying democracy and European Chief Negotiator for Brexit, Michel Barnier appears to only be able to offer a ‘take it or leave it’ stance when it comes to a so-called hard Brexit, writes ...
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NewsAll change for globalisation
COMMENT: Globalisation is evolving and the change may well mean the end of the concept as we know it, writes Ben Hackett.
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Disruption takes many forms
COMMENT: I recently attended the Terminal Operators Conference in Singapore where there was a lot of discussion about digitalisation, and blockchain - it was not clear to me whether the audience really understood the meaning or full implications of either, writes Ben Hackett.
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Optimism in the air
COMMENT: Syria aside, there appears to be a sense of optimism in the air about the prospects of the global economy and the growth of trade despite Trump''s “America First” policies and disdain for trade agreements, writes Ben Hackett.
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Tax and tribulations
COMMENT: There is a lot of speculation about President Trump''s Border Adjustment Tax (BAT), but little consensus on what it means, writes Ben Hackett.
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NewsUltimate threat to trade
COMMENT: We live in a new global reality where diplomacy is practiced via Twitter if we are to believe President Trump and the Lithuanian Prime Minister. This is, in my view, a very sad state of affairs with Twitter driving populism globally. Today, there is truth and alternative truth; in ...
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NewsNew year heralds change
COMMENT: The world order of things has changed, populism has thrown politics and economics into a new mixing bowl, not necessarily for the good, writes Ben Hackett.
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Another miserable year
COMMENT: The port and shipping industry really do not have much to look forward to these days. Despite all the recent scrapping of ships of all types, there is still a surplus of tonnage that slack demand cannot fill, writes Ben Hackett.
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Yet more turbulence ahead
COMMENT: For those who thought that things could not get worse, they will. At the beginning of the year there was optimism by some that 2016 would end up being a good year, however it is hard to see how anyone could have come to that conclusion, writes Ben Hackett.
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NewsFace up to the stark reality
COMMENT: I have come to the conclusion that economies of scale and the continuous upsizing of ships is leading the way to disaster, writes Ben Hackett.
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News
Finding a general purpose niche
COMMENT: In the early days of containerisation ports employed a benchmark ratio that one 1,250 teu container ship (remember that huge size?) replaced four multi-purpose general cargo ships and brought a host of benefits, not least high productivity and low port times, writes Ben Hackett.
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Pressure on transhipment ports
COMMENT: You would think that as container ships got bigger that we would see fewer ports of call, writes Ben Hackett.
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Connectivity all the rage
COMMENT: The concept of port connectivity has been around for some time; UNCTAD, for one, has done considerable research into the subject looking at freight rates, number of services, hinterland connectivity and reliable feeder operations, writes Ben Hackett.
