Volatile shipping markets and tremors in geopolitics…

John Faraclas

Our thirty-first weekly recapitulation of the shipping markets, their respective main indices and world geopolitics affecting same in 2015 and beyond, tonight Friday the 31^st of July 2015, with John Faraclas of AllAboutShipping in Athens.

• The BDI, the Baltic Dry Index, closed up 31 points since yesterday Thursday the 30^th of July at 1, 131 points which is 55 points up since last week’s 1, 086 points, which is 50, 04 centum down since the last closing of December 2013 at 2, 274 points; half way through… A long way to go…
• The BCI 2014 was 93 points up at 2, 209 which is 313 points up since last week’s 1, 896  points. What a volatility! volatility volatility volatility, despite same being on an upwards trend!
• The BPI was down 21 points at 1, 023 points which is 114 points down since last week’s 1, 137 points.
• The BSI was seven points up at 899 points,  and remained the same since last week’s closing at 899 points!!, and,
• The BHSI was up just a point at 423 points which is minus five points since last week’s 428 points!  An overall fragile dry market….upward trend,
• The wets now: The Dirties and its BDTI index was down 13 points at  763 points which is 54 points down since last week’s 817 points.
• The Cleans and its respective BCTI was down six points at 731 which is 33 points down since last week’s 764 points. Still an unhappy situ here….
• The price of oil continues below the US$ 48… As we said last week, “Caution as this might trigger geopolitical upheavals…”

The Geopolitics front remains far worse than last week:

• Greece is in turmoil. The ruling party’s foundations are shaking, a split is evident and despite his “eloquent” populist rhetoric, the prime minister is in trouble – see our earlier reporting today. Standing behind his former Finance Minister he takes the blame and one day he will pay the price of verbal manipulation… Remember: Everybody will have his own Nemesis, and that’s a fact! The lenders, I mean Troika is back with the eulogy of the Greek regime… Changing times… One important issue is to see the Athens Stock Exchange opened and operating on the business as usual basis, as many excuses for same remaining closed are pure nonsense! The greek summer looks like to be heated politically as well as in matters of foreign affairs, and after August things will get more than sour! We are warning you, be on guard!
• Is the Italian economy safe? Are we going to hear an Italian disaster in Europe?Who else will follow? What contigency plans are in place?
• In Ukrainian saga as we stressed last week, things continue far worse than before; the clash is imminent… last week…was far better…
• The Iranian nuclear deal as we said last week continues to bring tremors in the Middle East and its largest periphery!
• The Migrants drama continues from worse to worse and in Greece and its islands the situ is now more than unbearable! Lesvos Island is the worse hit and Athens and its parks get the mess too! In Europe too, with the Channel Tunnel being the epicentre of more trouble we wonder whether the French and British authorities can halt this mess?
• The new Suez Canal opens on Thursday the 6^th of August; Greece’s prime minister might attend the opening! The New Panama Canal too is due to open soon; these two canals will change the pattern of shipping with great repercurssions – good and bad… Plenty of newbuilding vessels will soon surface, as ordering is the  name of the double eco ships game….!
• Debris of a plane wreckage found at Reunion will be examined to ensure whether is that of the ill-fated flight MH370. We shall see… Strong nerves for all involved, but the truth must shine!!!
• Fukushima officials  might stand trial on the 2011 nuclear plant disaster…
• Beijing will get the 2022 Winter Olympics!
• Remarkable results from the new Ebola vaccine in Africa!
• The Islamic State now is supposed to be targeted by the Turkish Military with Turkish jets though striking on Kurdish positions; the mele will be interesting and a lot is at stake. Turkey is also continuing to violate the Greek Airspace in the Aegean playing with fire; Albania too is making waves in the sea-borders, north west  of Greece with respect the boundaries and EEZ. I guess Athens must send the appropriate message to both “neighbours”; enough!
• President Obama’s last part of his second term becomes slowly slowly wild… and dangerous. Can he re-introduce peace on earth before he goes? Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton… or who else…
• We invite the world  to visit Greece and its Islands; that will counter as a plus to the troubles Greece and its people are going through. Try the Indonesian Islands too; lovely places still undiscovered. Nice food too!

Have a nice weekend and be reminded to stay on guard vis-a-vis the Greek tragedy for which Europe must be blamed for letting it happen and continues to make it a difficult  solution. It is the greek politicians too and the rotten establishment which brought the country of Gods to this situ.

Viewers can watch the live video herebelow: