Tufton Assets Share Discussion Threads

[ambuchanan12] 07/10/2010 10:40

this etf is pretty damn rubbish - have sold it all at a samll profit and reinvested in shipping stocks

[mart] 24/9/2010 16:05

Not looking so good last week or so. Article below presaged it.

[mart] 02/9/2010 15:42

An old note extolling the merits of the BDI.

"Baltic Dry Index The Only Economic Indicator Worth Tracking"

[mart] 02/9/2010 12:56

Still looks to be increasing to me. Anybody got a counter argument?

[mart] 23/8/2010 08:15

Blimey, dear 'ole energyi had it all covered waaayyy back. Anybody think this index is flagging a recovery or is it 'random'?

[energyi] 10/12/2008 09:03

1yr

6mo

[blackstone] 30/10/2008 07:07

11.5k to under 1k in less than 6 months, thats really impressive.

[energyi] 18/10/2007 01:19

No surprise that the world is now awash with massive paper trading inflation.


An example of this is the new trading in freight derivatives, described in this article (link below)

John Banaszkiewicz, managing director of Freight Investor Services, the freight derivatives broker, said: "We have seen a whole new influx of players in the past year. The banks have been setting up proprietary desks and new funds have set up to speculate and make money in this market." Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and Macquarie Bank have set up proprietary trading desks in the past few months. Freight derivatives are forward contracts that were once used almost entirely by ship owners and manufacturing companies to lock in a fee for renting a ship, but now banks and hedge funds are making speculative bets on the market's direction.

Indeed as I've been saying, the result of the credit swoon, has been to encourage the gearing up of even more crack up and commodity trading.

/
Freight Link:


China factor helps drive freight derivatives
By David Oakley in London

Published: October 14 2007 22:03 | Last updated: October 14 2007 22:03

Bankers and hedge fund managers are increasingly turning to the nascent world of freight derivatives, as figures to be published today show the market is on course to hit a record $150bn (£74bn) in value – a 200 per cent increase on last year.

With volumes in many other derivatives markets, such as credit default swaps, hit by the liquidity crunch, freight derivatives have, by contrast, experienced a big surge in business as a result of the booming Chinese manufacturing sector, which requires raw materials.

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[blackstone] 10/10/2007 07:06

10000 looking possible, 1k to 10k in 6 years impressive.

[mcbeanburger] 14/9/2007 06:33

as ever china making the most of market turmoil to pick up some cheap goods.

[mcbeanburger] 14/9/2007 06:31

for those who think base metals story is over.....

Telegraph.Co.UK
Last Updated: 12:53am BST 25/08/2007

Do freight rates tell the true story?

The focus has been on the credit crunch but the Baltic Index may give a better picture of the state of the world economy, writes Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

The cost of leasing cargo ships to carry coal and metal to China reached an all-time high this week, defiantly ignoring a month of panic and tumbling prices across the commodity markets.


Heavy traffic: the credit squeeze is having no impact on the day-to-day demand for base metals

A 170,000-tonne Cape-size vessel now rents for $118,400 a day, roughly double the level a year ago. The Baltic Dry Index - which measures freight rates and is allegedly one of Alan Greenspan's favourite barometers of global health - has rocketed to a record 7,319.

The Baltic Index tells the underlying truth, missed amid all the headline chatter about the credit crunch, says Barclays Capital.

"Twice already this year it has proved a reliable indicator of fundamental trends for commodities when markets wobbled," it says. "Once the dust settles, the likelihood is for some very strong rebounds in commodity prices."


Indeed, outside the Australian port of Newcastle a fleet of 55 immense cargo ships is still waiting to pick up iron ore and coal to supply the industrial revolutions of Asia - a powerful rebuke to bears insisting that the great commodity boom is now over. Yet - big caveat - the share prices of mining companies have plummeted, many dropping much harder than those of the banks loaded with sub-prime debt and toxic CDOs (collateralised debt obligations).

Rio Tinto and Xstrata fell a quarter from their peaks in late July before recovering somewhat this week, while the smaller miners and explorers on London's Aim index or the Toronto exchange have been slaughtered.

In Canada, a clutch of mining companies have been burned by the wild ructions in the credit markets. Many had exposure to the finance company Coventree, which failed to roll over $4.8bn (£2.4bn) of asset-backed commercial paper last week.

Baffinland Iron Mines ($44m), Barrick Gold Corp ($65m), Ivanhoe Mines ($14m), and New Gold Inc ($152m), are among the companies that have not been able to get their money back - in some cases most of their cash. (Hence the recent flight into three-month treasury notes, deemed the only safe repository)

In this climate of near panic it has become all but impossible for miners to raise loans. Credit will be at least 100 basis points more costly (1pc) for those - in the top tier - still able to obtain it.

It is perhaps no surprise that mining shares have been driven into the floor.
end

[waldron] 21/1/2007 10:28

What are safe income plans and equity release plans?
here are a number of schemes which enable you to tap into the value of your home without having to sell it and move out.

Over the past forty years, thousands of retired homeowners have found that these plans provide a safe and successful method of releasing regular income or a cash lump sum, to improve the quality of their life in retirement.

The alternative may not be very attractive. Too many elderly homeowners find themselves in the unenviable position of having to watch every penny they spend from day to day, while most of their money remains locked up in their single biggest asset - their home.

Home income plans and equity release plans can resolve the problem safely.

But there are other schemes on the market which make the same promises - and bitter experience has shown that they are neither safe nor successful. To confuse matters, some of these schemes have sometimes been described as home income plans or equity release plans, too.

The purpose of this website is not to recommend any particular plans to you. Its aim is solely to help you to distinguish between the various plans available and to enable you to make an informed and sensible choice.

[waldron] 21/1/2007 10:24

Equity release booms as elderly cash in their bricks Published: 07:00 Sunday 21 January 2007
By Lorna Bourke, Money Columnist

Demand from elderly homeowners for extra income or lump sums has fuelled demand for equity release schemes which reached a record high in 2006.

New business is expected to exceed £1.2 billion in 2006 and hit 1.7 billion by the end of 2007, according to a survey by Safe Home Income Plans (Ship), the trade association which represents 90% of lenders in this market.

Newer flexible drawdown products, which are cheaper because the homeowner only draws relatively small amounts and the interest therefore rolls up more slowly, have proved particularly popular with consumers.

These allow consumers to withdraw only the equity which they require for immediate purposes, maintaining the rest within the property interest-free until they have need of a further cash advance.

Ship members forecast even greater flexibility in products in 2007 as well as new products such as enhanced release plan for impaired lives. The survey also found that one of the main reasons for a client taking out a plan was to enhance their quality of life, purchasing items like a new car, or carrying out home improvements.

The real constraint to expansion of business is a shortage of good, qualified, independent advice. Ship members have highlighted a number of concerns coming from consumers. Chief amongst these was the effect of equity release on their estate and the impact on State benefits like pension credit.

This links directly to member concerns that there is a shortage of IFAs prepared to offer advice on equity release who would be able to inform consumers of exactly what the impact on their benefits or estate would be – in spite of the fact that there are software programmes available which will deal with this problem. This confirms the findings of the recent FSA mystery shopping analysis of advice in the equity release market.

'The equity release market has come a long way over the past decade and has made very real strides in its attempt to rid itself from the scepticism that surrounded it in the early years,' said Jon King, chief executive of Ship.
'Equity release has never been cheaper, more accessible or - with full regulation imminent in 2007 - safer. Modern drawdown products are a far cry from the inflexible, poor value products of the past.'

'The findings from this year's survey highlight the necessity for Ship to continue advances made last year in promoting better advice to the consumer in 2007. Reassurance of the security of all products provided by Ship members must be made apparent and more confidence needs to be instilled amongst the IFA community. The demand from the consumer for these products is clear, now it is up to the industry to ensure that they have access to appropriate, expert advice as well as great value products,' King said.



What are safe income plans and equity release plans?
here are a number of schemes which enable you to tap into the value of your home without having to sell it and move out.

Over the past forty years, thousands of retired homeowners have found that these plans provide a safe and successful method of releasing regular income or a cash lump sum, to improve the quality of their life in retirement.

The alternative may not be very attractive. Too many elderly homeowners find themselves in the unenviable position of having to watch every penny they spend from day to day, while most of their money remains locked up in their single biggest asset - their home.

Home income plans and equity release plans can resolve the problem safely.

But there are other schemes on the market which make the same promises - and bitter experience has shown that they are neither safe nor successful. To confuse matters, some of these schemes have sometimes been described as home income plans or equity release plans, too.

The purpose of this website is not to recommend any particular plans to you. Its aim is solely to help you to distinguish between the various plans available and to enable you to make an informed and sensible choice.

[energyi] 06/9/2006 09:27

August 24, 2004
Man dies after falling overboard from freight ship




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ASTORIA, Ore. - A 36-year-old man has died after falling overboard from a ship about ten miles west of Astoria.
Officials say the Chinese resident was an able-bodied seaman on board the Panamanian flagged freight ship Far East Silo.

The Far East Silo radioed a mayday call at about 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, reporting that a crew member had fallen overboard.

A crew on a nearby harbor pilot vessel heard the mayday call and relayed it to Coast Guard in Astoria.

An HH60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Astoria, and two 47-foot motor lifeboats from Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment in Ilwaco, Washington were launched.

The man was found and hoisted into a helicopter. CPR was performed, but the man was transported to Columbia Memorial Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

[energyi] 06/9/2006 04:09

Jinhui Holdings CO Limited

Related Categories:
Ocean and Maritime Transport
Transportation and Logistics

Address:
1-6 Connaught Road West

Official Website:
Phone:
[phone]
Fax:
[phone]

[blackstone] 03/8/2006 12:52

From an old article
As they say on CNBC, what does this mean for you? In this article from late last year, Howard Simons charted the index against the Dow Jones World Equity Stock Market Index and U.S. Treasury 10-year notes. His conclusion: "It's a very good leading indicator." Movements in the Baltic Index tend to precede movements in global stock markets. But the index also tends to presage higher interest rates. When more stuff is being shipped around the world, it needs to be financed. And that creates a greater demand for credit.

Article link