I am not a links spammer!

I am not a links spammer. I am collecting information relevant to international trade and cross cultural management behaviour. Perhaps some bankers are unhappy about that? Boo hoo.

For example, it is my opinion that market fundamentals in BRIC countries are quite good at the moment regardless of how broke banks appear to be in western countries.

Their cash reserves are quite high even in the west especially the excess of 7 trillion USD the US government has promised so far to bail so many US banks out right now.

Whether or not they choose to extend credit to their foreign trading partners has not often been written into the contract of the bail out and at this time cyclical demand is determining a slowdown. However trade credit requests are not being publicized.

While BRIC banks hold lots of cash reserves it is not for bailing out western banks either in my opinion it is needed to confirm credit issuances on import and export orders.

For what other purpose would banks hold cash reserves in excess of requirements?

Chinese economic growth slowed - 15 Nov 08

Chinese economic growth slowed - 15 Nov 08

While this video describes the Chinese economy has slowed the OECD predicts no slower than 8% growth in 2009.

Insight, Outlook For Russian Economy

Insight, Outlook For Russian Economy

How could Russia be in serious economic straits if it has the working capital to bail out Iceland which registers the only other worst performing currency than the Korean won? Will the Russians come to the rescue here as well?

Brazilian economy booming in spite of global credit crunch

Brazilian economy booming in spite of global credit crunch

While Brazil may be flying low it appears all may be going fairly well there?

India Economic Opportunity

Video: India Economic Opportunity

A glowing list of record achievements in the Elephant Economy of India. It is obvious form the video that India contains a large and growing consumer populace.

Canadians in often-overlooked Korean War held their ground

Canadians in often-overlooked Korean War held their ground
Soldiers faced some of the most brutal battles in history
Gerald Vander Pyl, For Canwest News Service
Published: Tuesday, November 11, 2008

While the bravery of Canadian soldiers during the First and Second World Wars has been well-documented, many people know relatively little about the role Canada played in the Korean War.

Yet it was during that conflict when Canadians faced the most dire circumstances imaginable -- vastly outnumbered and completely surrounded by the enemy -- but still managed to defeat their foe.

The story of the battle at Kap'yong remains one of the most heroic in Canadian military history; and it occurred only a few short years after the end of the Second World War.

In 1950, the Communist forces of North Korea invaded South Korea and the United Nations Security Council responded by declaring war. Canadians once again found themselves heading for battle in an unfamiliar country far from home.

William Johnston, a historian with the Directorate of History and Heritage at National Defence Headquarters, says the war had already seen several ebbs and flows by the time the Canadian Army Special Force arrived. At one point the North Koreans had battled all the way south to Busan, but were then were pushed back almost to the border with China. Eventually the dividing line settled near the 38th parallel, just north of the Kap'yong River Valley.

By April of 1951, the Canadians had been involved in several successful operations and had turned over those positions to other forces in order to rest and regroup at Kap'yong.

But that rest would be short-lived as a huge army of Chinese "volunteers" -- who had earlier poured across the border into Korea -- launched a new offensive against the UN forces on April 22.

Johnston says the initial wave of the attack was aimed at Seoul, but then a Chinese division stormed down the Kap'yong River Valley, where the Canadians and Australians defended separate hills west and east of the river, while British and New Zealand regiments guarded the rear position.

Hub Gray, a veteran of the battle at Kap'yong and author of Beyond the Danger Close: The Korean Experience Revealed, says the resulting battle was brutal.

Only 22 years old when he served as a lieutenant with the 2nd Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry's mortar platoon, he says the attacking Chinese resulted in thousands of South Korean soldiers retreating en masse. Enemy forces gained kilometre after kilometre of territory.

"A panicked army is something you never want to see," says Gray.

Directly in the path of the attacking Chinese and North Koreans at Kap'yong, the Australians were taking a beating and eventually called in an air strike, which resulted in disaster as the bombs hit their own positions.

Staggered, they were forced to withdraw on the evening of April 24, leaving the Canadians alone and slowly being encircled by enemy forces as darkness fell.

Outnumbered almost eight to one, Hub says the Canadians faced wave after wave of Communist soldiers throughout the night of April 24 to 25. He says any attacking soldier felled by the Canadians quickly had his place taken by another.

At one point, the Chinese, who Hub says wore rubber-soled shoes rather than the traditional army boots, managed to quietly sneak almost 500 soldiers up Hill 677 where the Canadians were dug in to make a final stand. Discovered at the last possible moment, the Canadians opened fire with eight machine guns and averted disaster.

Johnston says the attacks continued against the Canadian companies that stood their ground until the enemy was finally repelled for good at Hill 677 midday on April 25, and the story of the Canadian bravery at Kap'yong still resonates to this day.

Commentary: I wonder if "The Battle of Kap'yong" is fully recounted in Korean history books? This article is the first I heard of it. As soon as the Royal Military College started linking to this repost of the Vancouver Sun article (which itself is a rebuttal to the article on lack of educational qualifications for foreign ESL instructors in Korea) google plans to suspend my blog and nearly three years of links, commentary, photographic or otherwise on the topics of my greatest interest. Let me tell you about the time I was shortlisted for English content editor at Google India or perhaps the time that Google wrote to me requesting a free referral to a local Korean HR Representative recommendation?

Half of Seoul's Native English-Speaking Teachers Not Qualified

Half of Seoul's Native English-Speaking Teachers Not Qualified

SEOUL, Nov 24 Asia Pulse - Half of the native English-speaking teachers placed at elementary, middle and high schools in Seoul do not have teaching degrees or certificates, a government report said Monday.

Among 810 native English-speakers who teach as assistants in the capital city, only 166, or 20.5 per cent, have education certificates, according to the report submitted to city councilman Nam Jae-kyong by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.

Those who hold certificates for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) total 303, accounting for 37.4 per cent.

There are 44 teachers, or 5.4 per cent, who have both education and TESOL certificates.

There were 136 instructors who majored in English education and 106 others who studied education.

Forty-eight per cent of the teachers, or 385 people, do not hold either education certificates or TESOL certificates, the report said.


With English proficiency seen as the key for success in school and in society, demand for native English speakers in South Korea has been rising in recent years.

The number of native English-speakers in South Korean schools jumped to 3,800 this year from 146 in 2000. There are currently about 2,800 more foreign teachers working at private institutes, according to a tally made by Ministry of Education, Science and Technology earlier this year.

(Yonhap)

Commentary: It would appear a selective sin of omission to yet again berate the general qualifications of Korea's labouring esl instructors. While such statistics may prove accurate no where is it mentioned in the article that Korea's own E-2 regulations require nothing more than a BA Degree. Until Korea's press and education departments treat its non-Korean instructors as guests according them all the civilities and welcome of travelling ambassadors of their own nations, and as partners rather than servants, the incidence of commitment to professional self-development will continue to appear lacking. It would be hard to find BEd teachers willing to work at hagwon salaries currently around 18,000 USD with current exchange rates.

Air Quality in Seoul Gets Worse

Air Quality in Seoul Gets Worse
(English Chosun)November 24, 2008

The air quality in the Seoul metropolitan area has become worse than before 2006, when it began trying to improve it. The government has spent W1.5 trillion (US$1=W1,501) over two years on the program.

The Metropolitan Air Quality Management Office under the Environment Ministry on Sunday announced the result of a campaign against smoke-belching old diesel vehicles by three local governments in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province in 2006 and 2007. An average of 58㎍ fine dust particles per 1 cubic m of air were detected in Seoul in 2007, except during dust storms, up 2㎍ from 56㎍ in 2005, the year before the project.

Other pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone and sulfurous acid which harm the respiratory and cardiovascular organs increased by 1 to 4 ppb as compared to 2005.

(englishnews@chosun.com )

Commentary: All I have to say is, "wheez, cough."

“BRIC played crucial role at G-20 summit”

“BRIC played crucial role at G-20 summit”
Vladimir Radyuhin
The Hindu

MOSCOW: Taking a joint stand on the global crisis the BRIC nations, Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC), secured a greater voice for emerging economies at the G-20 summit in Washington, a Russian Minister has said.

Commenting on the outcome of the Washington summit, Deputy Finance Minister Dmitry Pankin said the BRIC leaders played a crucial role in reworking the U.S.-drafted G-20 communiqué.

“The initial draft made no mention of the need to give the emerging nations a bigger say in the international financial institutions,” said Mr. Pankin on Monday. The final communiqué stated that emerging and developing economies “should have a greater voice and representation” and called for an urgent expansion of the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) to give “a broader membership of emerging economies.” India, China and Brazil will now join the FSF board, the global economic policy powerhouse, which to date has been the bastion of the G-8. Mr. Pankin said the BRIC leaders also successfully pushed for the G-20 to agree on closer coordination of macroeconomic policies. “The G-20 summit showed that if we [BRIC] act in concert we have a very good chance of having our voice heard,” he said.

Ahead of the summit, the BRIC nations issued a joint statement demanding a bigger role in shaping the new global financial architecture.

Commentary: All I can say is, "Bully! I agree Smedley! I agree!"



BRIC economies withstand global financial crisis
Author: Media Eghbal Date published: 5 Nov 2008 Euromonitor International

"The global financial meltdown of 2008 has not left the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China, known as the BRIC club, unscathed. As the developed world faces recession, BRIC growth is inevitably set to slow. Yet strong foreign exchange reserves and growing domestic demand will allow BRIC to withstand the crisis and continue growing, strengthening their position as a major consumer market."

Commentary: I think this is a lovely report which should get more publicity. Sorry if my review appears rather armchair, Media. At least I am reading?

The Financial Crisis and the Developing World

An Interview With Jomo K.S.

"Jomo Kwame Sundaram, better known as Jomo K.S., is the assistant secretary-general on economic development for the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. He is a visiting senior research fellow for the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, and professor in the Applied Economics Department, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. He is founder and chair of IDEAs, or International Development Economics Associates. Jomo K.S. would like to thank his colleagues Rob Vos, Pingfan Hong, Richard Kozul-Wright and Alex Izurieta for their contributions to these responses." The Financial Crisis and the Developing World

Commentary: Who should more equitably represent developing (and thus BRIC) economic outlooks better than General Jomo himself?

The Ultimate Charlie Rose!

"'Charlie Rose' by Samuel Beckett"

September 2003 Charlie Rose - FRIEDMAN / KRUGMAN

September 2003 Charlie Rose - FRIEDMAN / KRUGMAN

World freight prices collapse amid financial crisis

World freight prices collapse amid financial crisis(November 19th)

LONDON (AFP) — Freight shipping prices for transporting dry raw materials collapsed in November, slammed by the global financial crisis, slowing economic growth and falling commodity prices, industry experts said.

Commentary: This is what they are saying however is it really the financial crisis which is to blame?

The Baltic Dry Index, an indicator of economic trends which tracks the cost of moving goods such as coal, iron ore and grain across the oceans, has slumped over the past five months.

Commentary: I am certain demand at this time would be higher for many commodities at current throw-away prices. However they are not being shipped.

The index hit a record high of 11,793 points in May but has since fallen back to earth, hitting just 815 points last week -- the lowest level since the end of 1999.

Commentary: This followed the speculator fueled price hikes on commodities and the subsequent abandonment of these markets for US Treasury Bonds, gold certificates and any where else cash could be multiplied more securely.

"The freight market has borne the brunt of both the financial sector crisis and the ensuing economic downturn," said analysts at British-based emerging markets bank Standard Chartered.

"Anecdotal reports suggest a significant part of this has been due to difficulty in arranging trade finance as a result of the credit crunch rather than lack of demand," they said

Commentary: Why are these reports merely anecdotal? Do not commercial trade banks keep a record of credit references, requests and denials?

"Demand for commodities has also undeniably slowed, particularly for iron ore into China, which has an overwhelming impact on the dry freight market."

Commentary: If this is true then why are the Chinese readily able and actually willingly gobbling up parts of commodities producers in Australia for example?

Meanwhile, the Baltic Panamax Index, comprising of seven dry bulk routes, nosedived to 662 points last week -- the lowest level since its creation in 1998 and compared with a record high 11,425 points five months ago.

Commentary: Is there any evidence to suggest shippers are finding/have found more economical routes other than these to deliver their essential goods? For example, are bulk goods carriers suddenly back in favour? Are a number of charter businesses suddenly taking over the shipping routes off the books? For example have many shippers exporters and importers simply returned to standard bulk carriers on tramp routes to save cash? Would this have been one of the global trading world's ways of escaping commodities priced dry bulk shipping costs in the last couple of years?

Georgi Slavov, head of dry freight research at ICAP Shipping in London, said freight prices sank because steelmaking companies, hit by falling prices, have sought to slash their transportation costs.

"The first trigger for the collapse of dry bulk freight rates was the sharp sell-off across the commodity sector, the most important for the short-term freight market being the steel price," Slavov told AFP.



"The fall, which began at the beginning of June, squeezed first the profit margins of producers since they faced fixed high raw material costs and falling prices for their finished products.

"This was followed shortly by a squeeze of freight (costs) as they tried to pass the pressure from the profit margins to the freight market."

Commentary: It appears the freight markets are unwilling to swallow producer-based losses and neither are importers willing to purchase over-priced goods. It therefore appears the producers of commodities may have simply exceeded their own supply costs by 50% on many stockpiles of commodities which remain unsold.

Meanwhile, the chronic global financial crisis and slowing economic growth have ravaged demand for cargo ships.

Sverre Svenning, director of Fearnley Consultants shipbrokers, said demand has been slashed because the global credit squeeze made it very difficult for buyers to attract funding.

"The buyers don't get credit, so they can't buy the commodity ... (and) they don't need any ships," Svenning said. "It's definitely a reflection of the crisis affecting the real economy."

Commentary: Indeed however with the heavily unionized clout of commodities suppliers in North America why is the only issue in the public eye US automakers bailouts? How many commodities producers will need similar loss compensations packages due to the fact that up to three months of leveraged credit orders and inventory have been cancelled all processed at up to 50% higher costs than at present?

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said earlier this month that the financial crisis had begun to affect international trade, noting sharp falls to key shipping indices.


Commentary: Surely more than a few shippers had found alternate routes to delivery of over-the-top commodities in the last two years of record rising bulk rate costs?

The UN agency said in its annual maritime transport review that the world's merchant fleet had expanded to a record 1.12 billion deadweight tons, with the order book for new vessels reaching a peak of 10,053 ships in 2008.

However, from mid-2008, companies were cancelling new ships on order.

Commentary: How many companies would bee defaulting on orders not based on commodities prices alone but on currency exchange pegged futures? How many orders would also be cancelled because the builders were losing as well?

Svenning said "it's a lack of demand. Lots of people are stuck with high (commodity) inventories with high costs and they are simply sitting tight at doing nothing right now.

Commentary: I cannot resist.

"So there has been an imbalance between supply of transportation capacity and demand for this transportation capacity."

Looking ahead, Standard Chartered analysts predicted that freight prices could rebound in the coming months.

"As inventories are run down over the next few months, particularly in the steel industry, a rebound in freight will become more possible," they said.

Commentary: How many bankruptcies will ensue between then and now offering the only opportunities to unload inventories at throw-away or even currrent prices?

"Growing reports of cancelled orders for new vessels increase the risk of extreme upward pressure on freight rates once more as the global economy begins to recover from this cyclical downturn in 2010."

Commentary: Whoa, who decided this was all ending in 2010? Are we playing optimist now?

Paul Krugman: How did a few failed banks add up to a financial meltdown?

ZOCALO PUBLIC SQUARE
Paul Krugman: How did a few failed banks add up to a financial meltdown?

Commerce becalmed over letters of credit

Commerce becalmed over letters of credit
(The Times)
Carl Mortished, World Business Editor
November 3, 2008

The credit drought is undermining international trade in goods and raw materials with savage increases in the cost of funding for exporters. At the same time, buyers of goods are being denied access to letters of credit - the banking instruments that are the nuts and bolts of global trade.

Commentary: I love this nuts and bolts analogy as this is the exact topic I have been studying and teaching about for nearly three years.

HSBC, a leading trade finance bank, has said that the cost of guaranteeing a letter of credit, a routine instrument used for payment of goods, has doubled. Concern is growing in the shipping industry that business is foundering because of failures in trade finance, and Pascal Lamy, director-general of the World Trade Organisation, has given warning that the credit crunch is affecting global trade, particularly in the emerging markets of Brazil, India and China. He said: “Trade finance is being offered at 300 basis points above the London Interbank Offered Rate and even at this high price, it has been difficult for developing countries to obtain.”

Commentary: Other reports state these costs have tripled.

Mr Lamy has called a group of trade finance banks, including HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, JPMorgan and Commerzbank, to a meeting on November 12 with the IMF and World Bank to consider the trade finance problem.

Commentary: Yes it is old news but all news to me!

Lack of trade finance is having a disastrous effect on shipping. In a report issued on Friday, Maersk Broker, a subsidiary of the Danish shipping group, blamed logjams in the banking system for the slump in the dry bulk cargo market: “Banks’ refusal to offer letters of credit has resulted in very few fresh cargoes reaching the market, which is adding to the owners’ woes.”

Commentary: It appears bankers suddenly least trust other bankers at this time. It appears prudent from a cash in hand basis and those with ready cash will be largely unaffected however they only appear to represent about 10% of all global trade buyers.

A collapse in the trade of raw materials such as grain and iron ore, after years of frantic activity, is causing havoc. The Baltic Exchange Dry Index, which measures the price of voyages and the cost of chartering vessels, has plummeted. Rates for the largest transporters, known as Capesize, peaked in May at $230,000 a day. It is estimated that the daily cost of running the ships, including depreciation, is about $15,000 but at the end of last week, rates had fallen to $5,982 a day.

Commentary: It would be interesting to examine which of two factors, purchases made at record high commodities prices which were cancelled at a loss thus throwing trade credit at the top of bankers' risk assessments or the actual sudden re-evaluation of trade credit transactions consumption of bankers' short-term debt uncertainties which more heavily impacted the crash in commodities prices. Speculators might easily be blamed but how many buyers and sellers of real, tangible commodities actually participated in the speculative investments in supply costs?

According to HSBC, there has been a surge in customer requests for trade tools that can guarantee payment.

Commentary: This appears questionable and confusing as some reports state that only 10% of world trade relied on letters of credit previous to commodities price crash versus a majority which relied on sellers government guaranteed credit which in terms of Canadian exporters generally only covers 90% of the total export value. Did all of these exporters suddenly perceive 10% of their uninsured value would be lost and is that 10% often representative of their profit margin? Thus for the sake of profit margins nearly 90% of global trade has ground to a halt? Is this a fair conclusion and where and when will the public be informed of it?

Stuart Nivison, an executive in the bank’s trade finance division, said companies that two years ago might have been happy to deal on the basis of simple orders from customers are now insisting on documentary credit.

Commentary: In the Middle East it is my understanding that much of its inter-company trade has been on a cash only basis as a standard of small businesses without bank support.

Anxiety about payment was pushing companies to ask for greater security, Mr Nivison said, and in such transactions, fees were soaring. He pointed to a recent case of a shipment of industrial equipment from Britain to India, where the confirmation and discounting of a letter of credit, which would normally cost 0.5 per cent of the value of the goods, had risen to more than 1 per cent. “These are big moves and reflect the nervousness in the market. People want to be sure they are paid,” Mr Nivison said.

Commentary: If companies have rushed from government sponsored credit insurance payments perhaps it is due to sudden increased demand in commodities which perhaps have doubled in volume compared to the fifty percent drop in prices which would be impossible for most companies to fulfill?

Distrust of banks is compounding the problem. “We have received requests to guarantee the credit of top-tier banks and we have also seen cases of exporters in China saying to their UK buyers which banks they will or will not accept,” Mr Nivison said. He added: “Trade finance is the oil that keeps the wheels of commerce going. Without it, everything grinds to a halt.”

Commentary:It would appear global exporters may be trying to support higher prices for commodities based upon actual demand which has fallen out of favour as the speculators have left the building for the moment. At the same time importers may be demanding suddenly increased volumes of commodities beyond the inventory and supply capabilities of exporters. I suspect the letters of credit option is being "played" as a means to insure complete export risk coverage to maintain minimum 10% profit margins which government sponsored export insurance programs do not secure. At the same time, importers knowing this are attempting to secure lower cost letter of credit terms because 1-3% of their profit margins are suddenly being shaved off by the banks. That is the way it appears to me. Am I far off base here?

'Credit crisis tsunami' threatens world trade

'Credit crisis tsunami' threatens world trade
Bloomberg
Published: October 29, 2008, 23:43

Washington/Los Angeles: Richard Burnett's lumber company had started loading wood onto ships heading for China. More was en route to the docks. It was all part of an order that would fill 100 40-foot containers.

Then Burnett got a call from his buyer at Shanghai VIVA Wood Products Co. The deal was dead. He told Burnett, president of Cross Creek Sales LLC in Augusta, Georgia, he couldn't get a letter of credit (LC) to guarantee payment for at least six months.

"It was like a spigot got cut off," Burnett said, recounting the transaction that fell apart in July. The inability of buyers in China and Vietnam to get letters of credit has cost his company as much as $4 million (Dh14.68 million) this year, a third of projected revenue, forcing him to lay off 15 of 35 employees, he said.

Suppliers of oil, coal, grains and consumer products from Chicago to Mumbai are losing sales as the credit crisis spreads beyond financial institutions, and banks refuse financing or increase the fees for buyers. Coupled with declining demand, the credit squeeze is threatening international trade, one of the lone bright spots in the global economy.

"It's like standing on a beach watching a tsunami, knowing that it's coming," said Scott Stevenson, manager of the International Finance Corp.'s Global Trade Finance Programme. IFC is the World Bank's private lending arm.

Emerging markets such as Brazil, Vietnam and South Africa are particularly vulnerable because buyers have more trouble proving their financial strength. The slowdown is also damaging the US, the world's largest economy, where exports accounted for almost two-thirds of the 2.1 per cent growth in gross domestic product in the 12 months through June, according to the US Trade Representative's office.

Shipping rates fall

Another sign of trouble: The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of commodity shipping costs that banks watch as an economic indicator, fell below 1,000 yesterday for the first time in six years, dropping it 89 per cent for the year.

Global trade volumes may sink next year, their first decrease since 1982, according to Andrew Burns, a lead economist at the World Bank. While there is still uncertainty over future prospects, trade may contract by as much as 2 per cent, after annual increases of 5 per cent to 10 per cent over the past decade.

"We only see this kind of shock when we have outbreaks of war, or maybe the oil shocks of the 1970s," said Kjetil Sjuve, a commodities shipbroker at Lorentzen & Stemoco in Oslo. "This lack of credit was a shock to the entire economy. We were hit second after the banks."

Of the $13.6 trillion of goods traded worldwide, 90 per cent rely on letters of credit or related forms of financing and guarantees such as trade credit insurance, according to the Geneva-based World Trade Organisation.

Commentary: An important detail I have sought for a few weeks now.

Letters of credit are centuries-old instruments that allow far-flung partners to complete large transactions. An importing company gets its bank to issue the letter, guaranteeing payment for a delivery. That bank provides the letter to the exporter's bank, which then guarantees payment to the exporting company. The system breaks down when banks don't trust one another and are unwilling to accept a letter of credit as proof that payment is coming.

Cost triples

From 2000 through last year, the use of letters of credit declined to about 10 per cent of global trade transactions, the IFC's Stevenson said. Over the past six months, they began "roaring back into fashion" as sellers sought to guarantee payments from buyers they no longer trusted, he said. At the same time, liquidity problems caused banks to increase charges.

Commentary: It would appear the maxim of "building trade relationships" means little when your bank looks ready to falter.

The cost of a letter of credit has tripled for buyers in China and Turkey and doubled for Pakistan, Argentina and Bangladesh, said Uwe Noll, director of country risk sales at Deutsche Bank AG. Banks are now charging 1.5 per cent of the value of the transaction for credit guarantees for some Chinese transactions, bankers say.

"The whole global trade production line relies on letters of credit," Matt Robinson, an analyst at Moody's Economy.com wrote in an October 23 report. "No letters of credit, no transactions - and no transactions mean no international trade."

Seaspan predicts cancellations as Evergreen slumps

Seaspan predicts cancellations as Evergreen slumps
Janet Porter and Sandra Tsui - October 31, 2008
(From Lloyd's List)

ORDERS for big containerships will be cancelled, delayed, or converted to other ship types if the industry downturn is prolonged, Seaspan chief executive Gerry Wang predicted as the box trades took another pummelling and Evergreen joined the casualty list.

Evergreen Marine Corp, the Taiwan-listed arm of Evergreen Group, reported a 94% slump in third quarter net income following the crash of Asia-Europe freight rates to record lows and declines on other routes.

Commentary: Would this indicate that virtually 94% of all ocean going freight delivery orders are contingent on letters of credit transactions which have been either cancelled due to questionable bank liquidity or due to cancellations due to virtually halved commodities prices which buyers in Asia would now need to absorb as netlosses?

Evergreen, one of the few global carriers not to have ordered super-sized box ships, said net income in the latest three months was down to NT$291m ($8.8m) from NT$5.2bn a year earlier.

Cumulatively, Evergreen achieved net income of NT$1.5bn in the first nine months of 2008 compared with NT$6.8bn in the corresponding period of 2007 as revenue fell from NT$21.bn to NT$17.4bn, according to a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

In New York, containership owner Seaspan posted a third quarter net loss of $5.1m on net earnings of $42.6m, compared with a $38.6m deficit in the corresponding period of 2007, and reflecting a non-cash unrealised loss from interest rate swaps rather than the underlying business.

A coalition of industry interests including shipowners, liner operators, banks and shipbuilders would probably orchestrate a reduction in the record high orderbook in a variety of ways, while a number of marginal or greenfield yards will almost certainly have to withdraw from some of their commitments, said Mr Wang.

Commentary: Would this coalition represent an offical or unofficial freight convention?

Seaspan’s shares have been battered in recent weeks in line with other shipping stocks, falling from around $25 in August to $11 at the end of last week and forcing Mr Wang to tell investors that its business bore no relation to the Baltic Dry Index or the letters of credit crisis that has hit the drybulk trades, and stress that the company is a shipowner, not a liner operator.

Commentary: How can the Baltic Dry Index and letters of credit crisis not be related to a 94% drop in freight volumes irregardless of shipownership? Would not losses then be on cancellations of projected charters or future contracts?

The New York-listed company which has 33 ships on long-term hire to boxship majors, and another 35 on order against firm charter deals, believes it should be relatively immune from the market downturn because of these fixed employment commitments.

In a conference call to analysts, Mr Wang said Seaspan had not picked up any hints of charter defaults, or received requests to renegotiate charterparty agreements.

With its ships only fixed to bluechip companies, Mr Wang said the risk of that happening was low. The average duration of current charter contracts is seven years, said Mr Wang who went on to express confidence that options which come up for renewal in four years’ time would be exercised.

Commentary: Are the financial management operations of bluechip companies not somehow similar to investment banks?

He also predicted an upturn in scrapping activity and a continuation of slow steaming, despite a drop in oil prices.

Reduced speeds are helping to absorb tonnage capacity, and Mr Wang said that, even at lower fuel prices, it still made commercial sense to run ships more slowly.

“Slow steaming will be here for some time,” he forecast.

Seaspan’s chief financial officer Sai Chu said the company’s bank relationships “remained strong” and that there had been no problems over recent drawdowns or credit rollovers.

For the industry overall, Mr Wang said a long recession would probably lead to more consolidation.

But Seaspan could benefit if liner operators outsource during these difficult times and prefer to take tonnage on long-term charter rather than have ships on their balance sheets.

Container lines are now enduring some of the worst conditions ever as supply races ahead of demand and some decide to put vessels into full lay-up.

Just days before Evergreen released its latest figures, China Shipping Container Lines posted a net loss of Yuan272m ($39.8m) for the third quarter.

Singapore’s Neptune Orient Lines expects to suffer its first operating loss in six years in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s export orders, an indicator of actual shipments over the next one-to-three months, increased by the lowest level in more than six years in September, as demand from China and the US fell, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Commentary: How much of demand losses actually represents sudden letters of credit transaction cancellations?

Joint Business Group Luncheon With Guest Speaker: Lubna Al Qasimi

Joint Business Group Luncheon
With Guest Speaker:
H. E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, UAEs Minister of Foreign Trade

The British Business Group together with the American, Australian, Canadian and Swiss Business Councils are pleased to announce a Guest of Honour Speaker with Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna al Qasimi, the UAE’s Minister of Foreign Trade. Her Excellency will speak on the subject of the UAE’s perspective on International Trade with some focus on the World Trade Organisation, Free Trade Agreements and the legislative framework. This is a unique opportunity to learn first hand of current developments here in the field of international trade at this interesting time.

Date: Wednesday, 19th November 2008
Time: 12:00pm - Registration and Networking, 12:30 - Speeches & Lunch
Venue: InterContinental Hotel, Liwa Majlis
Cost: Members AED 200 & 250 for Non-members.

Globalinks Tutors Recruitment fairs 2009

Globalinks Tutors Recruitment fairs 2009

Globalinks Tutors now represents over three hundred international schools from all over the world. We now have offices in London, UK and have just opened up a new office in Pennsylvania, USA. Our list of clients is growing daily and, to accommodate this increased demand for teachers, we will be hosting a series of Recruitment Fairs throughout 2009 to recruit teachers for a variety of positions in international schools. Contact me now for information: website www.globalinkstutors.com email andrew@globalinkstutors.com

UK

London, UK - 7th/8th February 2009,
London, UK - 25th/26th April 2009
Dublin, Ireland - 18th/19th April 2009
Manchester, UK - 23rd/24th April 2009
Birmingham, UK - 14th/15th April 2009
Bath, UK - 16th/17th April 2009, Edinburgh, Scotland - 21st/22nd April 2009

USA

New York, USA – 14th/15th February 2009
Seattle, USA - 21st/22nd March 2009,
Denver, USA - 28th/29th March 2009
San Francisco, USA - 7th/8th February 2009
New Orleans, USA - 20th/21st February 2009
Chicago, USA - 14th/15th March 2009,
Boston, USA - 7th/8th March 2009

CANADA

Toronto, Canada - 24th/25th January 2009
Vancouver, Canada - 31st/1st January/February 2009

MIDDLE EAST

Dubai, UAE - 27th/28th February 2009

FAR EAST

Shanghai, China - 17th/18th January 2009
Bangkok, Thailand - 3rd/4th January 2009,
Bangkok, Thailand - 21st/22nd March 2009
Hong Kong - 10th/11th January 2009

Asian markets tumble on grim US corporate news

Asian markets tumble on grim US corporate news
By STEPHEN WRIGHT – November 13, 2008 (AP)

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Asian stock markets tumbled Thursday as more signs of a sharp downturn in the U.S. economy spurred investors to dump shares of exporters like Sony and Samsung.

Investors also reacted nervously to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's announcement that the government's $700 billion financial rescue package won't purchase troubled assets from banks as originally planned. The Treasury will instead rely on buying stakes in banks and encouraging them to resume more normal lending.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average fell 480.92 points, or 5.5 percent, to 8,214.59 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dived 6.6 percent to 13,015.28 points.

Markets in Australia, South Korea and Taiwan all fell more than 4 percent.



"The negative corporate and economic news flowing out of the U.S. is what markets have been expecting and it doesn't change the picture investors have, which was already bad," said Porranee Tongyen, head of research at Asia Plus Securities in Bangkok.

In Asia, only the Shanghai Composite Index traded in positive territory, up 1.7 percent as the Chinese government's $586 billion economic stimulus package announced Sunday continued to underpin sentiment.



Grim news from companies weighed on U.S. stocks overnight with the Dow Jones industrial average falling 4.7 percent to 8,282.66, its third straight loss. Department store chain Macy's Inc. said it lost $44 million in the third quarter as sales fell more than 7 percent, and consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co. slashed its fiscal 2009 guidance on fears that consumer spending will erode even further.

That's bad news for Asia's exporters, which depend on American consumers to buy their products.

Japanese exporters were also hit by a strengthening yen, which erodes the value of their overseas earnings when converted back to the local currency. The yen was trading at 95.58 to the dollar in Asia, versus 97.98 yen a day earlier.

Sony Corp. slid 8.2 percent to 2010 yen. Another electronics maker, Sharp Corp., fell sharply on news it agreed to pay $120 million after pleading guilty to conspiring with two other companies to fix prices of LCD screens in the U.S. Its shares were down 6.2 percent to 683 yen.

South Korea's main index slid 6.5 percent to 1,051.38 as bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. sank 4.3 percent.

Oil prices continued their decline after the U.S. Energy Department said Wednesday it expects U.S. consumption of petroleum to next year drop more severely than any time since 1980.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery was down 81 cents to $55.35 a barrel, after falling as low as $55.03, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midmorning in Singapore.