My Investing Muse

Global Economy This is extracted from an article dated 13 Sep 2023 from Fitch: We have raised our 2023 world growth forecast by 0.1pp to 2.5% reflecting surprising resilience so far this year in the US, Japan and emerging markets (EM) excluding China. We have revised up US growth by 0.8pp to 2.0%, Japan by 0.7pp to 2.0% and EM ex. China by 0.5pp to 3.4%. This has more than offset a 0.8pp cut to China – to 4.8% – and a 0.2pp cut to the eurozone, to 0.6%. But we have cut our 2024 world growth forecast by 0.2pp to 1.9% with widespread downward revisions. We have reduced our 2024 US forecast by 0.2pp to 0.3%, the eurozone by 0.3pp to 1.1%, and China and EM ex. China by 0.2pp to 4.6% and 3.0%, respectively.  This is the outlook provided by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD's recent September post : Global growth is expected to remain weak . The world economy is expected to grow by 3.0% in 2023, before slowing down to 2.7% in 2024. A disproportionate ...

The Panama Canal is a 77.1 km (48 mi) man-made waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a popular route for maritime shipping. The Panama Canal is important for a number of reasons. First, it allows ships to avoid sailing around the Cape Horn, which is a much longer and more dangerous route. Second, the canal shortens the distance between many ports around the world, which can save time and money for shipping companies. Third, the canal provides jobs and revenue for Panama, and it is a major contributor to the country's economy. The Panama Canal is also important for global trade. It is one of the busiest shipping canals in the world, and it handles a large volume of cargo each year. The canal is essential for the transportation of goods such as oil, grain, and manufactured goods. The Panama Canal is a vital part of the global transportation system. It allows ships to travel between the Atlantic ...

MAERSK 2023 Q2 EARNINGS REVIEW MAERSK 2023 Q2 earnings were released in early Aug 2023. Here is a review of the earnings and what it says about the company and the global outlook. Why do I consider Maersk’s as an indicator of the bigger global outlook? MAERSK is one of the biggest operators of the world liner fleet at 15.3% as of May 2023, trailing only behind MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company which leads with 18.6%). They have one of the widest reach and at one point, 20% of the global shipping capacity. Financial Highlights of MAERSK (consolidated)  Looking at the highlights above, we can see a notable YoY drop of revenue (consolidated) with ocean revenue suffering the biggest dip of 50% YoY. For the other business units, the drop was much lesser in magnitude. Observations from the Quarterly Summary of Consolidated MAERSK (YoY) in USD Revenue fell from 2022 Q2’s $21.65B to 2023 Q2’s $12.98B , a significant dip by 40.0% . The underlying profit has dropped from 2022 Q2’s $8.55B ...