Messy shipping markets and explosive geopolitics – yet again!

John Faraclas

Our thirty-fourth weekly recapitulation of the shipping markets, their respective main indices and world geopolitics affecting same in 2015 and beyond, tonight Friday the 21^st of August 2015, with John Faraclas of AllAboutShipping in Athens.

• The BDI, the Baltic Dry Index, closed down 20 points since yesterday Thursday the 20^th of August at 994 points which is 61 points down since last week’s 1, 055 points, breaking again – but downwards, the 1, 000 points barrier re-confirming our thoughts during our midweek market blues prediction… This is 1, 280 points down from December’s 2013 closing or 56, 5 centum!!! CAUTION!!!
• The BCI 2014 was 120 points down at 1, 559 points which is 325 points down since last week’s 1, 884 points! Once again: what a volatility…
• The BPI was up two points at 1, 054 points which is three points down since last week’s 1, 057 points.
• The BSI was six points plus since yesterday at 930 points which is 25 points up since last week’s 905 points. A bit of improvement but… and,
• The BHSI was up four points at 464 points which is 15 points up since last week’s 449 points. An overall fragile and downward dry market. Unsustainability at its best! Wonder what excuses the gurus and analyst will say… “Correction”, perhaps…
• The wets now: the Dirties and its BDTI index was 12 points down at 632 points which is 41 points down since last week’s  673 points.
• The Cleans and its respective BCTI was also down twelve points at 645 points which is 35 points down sicne last week’s 680 points!
• The price of oil continues its fall and now stands just below the US$ 41 and it might go below the US$ 40 barrier…

• The Geopolitics front remains blur…:
• The Greek drama continues with elections looming and a total mess.  Greece needs a leader, until then things will be more than messy. Catharsis is the name of the game!!!
• In Ukraine, the saga continues…
• China goes slowly slowly to a recession? Period..
• Next door the two Koreas are once again at loggerheads; CAUTION, as an error can be fatal…
• The US Dollar needs an ajustment and the  Dow Jones Index will be further corrected. These levels experienced above the 17, 000 points are bublish… It took 100 years for the index to go above the 10, 000 points mark at the end of March 1999 (10, 006.78). Time for a further correction…
• The Migrants drama goes from worse to worse all over Med…. Pity…
• The Islamic State must be defeated here and now…
• We continue to invite the world visiting Greece and its Islands; that will counter as a plus to the troubles Greece and its people are going through. The Turkish Government by allowing the traffickers to move the migrants to  the Greek Islands not only spoil Greece’s tourism but will eventually create the worst explosion in the East Med… Otherwise, do try New York, as the City is at its best this time of the year!!!

• Finally, we repeat like last Friday: “Have a nice weekend and be reminded once again 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 – over the last 41 years.”

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