The Economist – Page 7
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NewsAn Asian dilemma
Travelling around Asia opens the mind as there are events taking place here that introduce new issues, and these suggest we may not always have been looking in the right direction.
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NewsRe-inventing the wheel
Terminal operators today are moving to re-define their role, to come up with an identity that clarifies what they do. At least that is the case in container terminals; bulk terminals have a more clearly defined role.
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NewsFinding the right coping mechanisms
The wider impact of the the Japanese tsunami and subsequent radiation leaks has broad repercussions for the shipping and ports industry.
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NewsCaution counselled as uncertainty rules
Our industry expects economists to provide forecasts for the months and years ahead, prognosticating about demand and supply as well as financial returns. We spout optimism and pessimism with equanimity, but often with a lag.
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NewsPromises of a good year
Being an economist is not easy. We are expected to have an opinion on the state of the economy but are usually castigated for our views.
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NewsSurviving 2010 not a panacea for 2011
What a wonderful year 2010 was: the container shipping industry has survived and even those on the edge of oblivion managed to get pulled back.
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NewsNo Christmas stocking for box ports
The liner industry has entered the slow season. Normally the peak season comes around late August through early October, but this year it came early in the July-August period.
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Fancy a Gamble?
Hedging, OTC trading and Derivatives have arrived in the container market. Ben Hackett
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NewsThe littered road to recovery
The spectre of mass insolvency and bankruptcy appears to be behind us as the maritime industry roars to the end of 2010 with excellent financial results for the first half of the year.
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NewsThe peak season enigma
After over a year of a constant stream of depressing financial reporting from shipping lines terminal operators and port authorities we are finally seeing positive numbers being announced in the financial results.
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NewsCreating hurdles, not solutions
The latest G20 meeting resulted in a communique that endorses austerity and debt reduction.
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NewsAstute management could have repercussions
The global container terminal operators reported profits in 2009 despite the shipping global recession and shipping calamity.
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NewsTrust and credibility still at stake
One of the key issues to emerge at the 12th Global Liner Shipping conference in London was the continuing mistrust between shippers and carriers.
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NewsOnly the beginning of the end
At the recent Journal of Commerce conference in Oakland (TPM) one of the major carrier’s chief executives suggested that the industry had not been ready for the boom in cargo and had had no pre warning.
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NewsGrowth marred by confusion
The last two months have been interesting for economic analysts; data has been contradictory and has led to the lengthy debate on whether we are about to return into recession or are poised for solid growth.
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NewsWinds of Change
The shipping industry is entering a period of change; the impact of the economic crisis is creating changes that may alter the face of shipping for some years to come.
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NewsAre we in danger of a double dip recession?
A recent US survey of eminent economists resulted in 80% of those surveyed believing that the recession was over. Yet we continue to hear warnings about the continuation of the recession with fears of a "W" double dip recession and the next negative phase of the financial crisis resulting from ...
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The Silly Season
The summer period of vacations, leaving offices and governments with skeleton staff, is known as the "silly season" in the UK and the "dead season" in France. There are few events of newsworthiness and news readership drops dramatically.
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If you did not anticipate it, blame the economists
The last two weeks has made me think that it is time to change professions. Being an economist is becoming unpleasant. Reading the newspapers and attending industry conferences can be very depressing. Why does everyone like to pick on economists when the shipping executives make irrational decisions?
