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Macro Macchiato 29/04/19: Forget the Ides of March, What about the First of May?

Macro Macchiato 29/04/19: Forget the Ides of March, What about the First of May?

I received several calls on Friday and over the weekend asking for my view on the US announcement that it intends to stand by its decision not to renew the eight-country waiver on sanctions for buying Iranian oil. Flattered as I am by these calls, my guess is as good as yours as to how the US will police the sanctions and whether any of the waiver nations will take any notice. But it’s worthwhile thinking through the situation. First of all, what are the US motivations for re

Seminar invitation: Marine Data Technologies - Practical Applications for Claims and Loss Prevention

We are delighted to announce our MD, Mark Williams, will be speaking at this free afternoon seminar on Wednesday 1 May 2019. In recent years the use of marine data for incident investigation has become routine but approaches used in response to claims can also assist with loss prevention. Join us to discuss the types of data available and highlight some recent developments in the use of marine data across the insurance industry. Topics include: The use of AIS data for inciden

Macro Macchiato 15/04/19: Where is Shipping Demand Going to Come From?

Macro Macchiato 15/04/19: Where is Shipping Demand Going to Come From?

Ten most populous countries in 2018 (Source: World Economic Forum) There are now about 7.5 Billion people alive and almost six in ten of them live in the ten most populous countries, according to this data from the World Economic Forum. Over a third live in just China and India combined. Nigeria, which is seventh on the list, is home to Lagos, the world’s fastest growing megacity. Bangladesh is a noteworthy entry since it has one of the densest populations, with 1,140 people

Macro Macchiato 08/04/19: There's No Such Thing As A Good Forecast

Macro Macchiato 08/04/19: There's No Such Thing As A Good Forecast

In 1999 I completed my MSc in Operational Research, having gone back to college part time because, with a BA and MA in Literature with Linguistics and an as yet unexamined PhD studying the literary output of Huguenot refugees in England in the first half of the eighteenth century, I had few hard skills for the world of work. Still, that was the nice thing about the English educational system before fees: one could spend several years enjoying higher learning and then go off a

Macro Macchiato 01/04/19: The Asian Century and Shipping

Macro Macchiato 01/04/19: The Asian Century and Shipping

I’ve been spending some time thinking about the longer term changes to our industry which are based on the rise of the emerging markets to a position of dominance in the global economy and in our industry. I wrote in our Macro Macchiato about how the BRICs are still relevant to shipping. But they are not alone. A decade ago I would talk in conferences about the BRITVICS – Brazil, Russia, India, Turkey, Vietnam, Indonesia, China and South Africa – as the regions that would d