Angela Merkel
Commentary: Merkel setback hurts EMU reform odds
By David Marsh in Bali
The stunning setback for Germany’s coalition parties in Sunday’s Bavarian state elections will toughen Chancellor Angela Merkel’s already difficult task of winning consensus for reforming and strengthening the structure of European economic and monetary union. The Bavarian debacle will narrow further Merkel’s room for policy manoeuvre both over budgetary squabbles with Italy and over the wider issue of...
“That is mind-blowing. The comparison is stunning. Two dinosaurs on totally different islands experiencing the same cyclical patterns… who would have thought?” – T. Island, nickname, a Loadstar reader, October 2018.
In a similar manner to which General Electric (GE) is being dismantled following almost two decades of disgraceful mismanagement, AP Møller Mærsk Group (APMM) could be faced with a reality check of epic proportions if its latest revolutionary corporate strategy …
The post Analysis:...
https://theloadstar.co.uk/analysis-apmm-vs-ge-dinosaurs-heading-extinction/
Events have overtaken me this week. I began this column with the following:
“The recent appointment of Serge Corbel as the new chief financial officer of CEVA Logistics fuelled speculation that CMA CGM might be ready to snap up the freight forwarding and contract logistics specialist in which the French carrier already owns a near-25% stake.
“What could be going on behind the scenes is just as important as trying to understand …
The post Market Insight: CEVA and CMA CGM – vertical consolidation...
https://theloadstar.co.uk/market-insight-ceva-cma-cgm-vertical-consolidation-next-step/
Commentary: No ‘competitive devaluation’ in China
By Mark Sobel in Washington
When the Trump administration asserts that China steals intellectual property, violates foreign investor rights, engages in wholesale subsidisation of the economy, and raises questions about industrial policy pursuant to ‘Made in China 2025’, it stands on solid ground. Assertions about ‘competitive devaluations’ by China, however, do not stand up to scrutiny. The renminbi’s decline primarily reflects a strong US economy...
The City of London
Global Economic & Market Outlook – Focus Notes (Friday, October 12, 2018)
Brexit negotiations- The bumpy road to a withdrawal agreement
Brexit negotiations- Where we currently stand
With just five and a half months before the planned Brexit date of 30 March 2019 and an agreement providing for the UK’s orderly exit from the European Union (EU) yet to be reached, EU/UK official talks on a withdrawal agreement in accordance with Article 50 of the EU Treaty, have gained pace. Not...
I have spent so much time on the Damco story over the past few weeks that I almost overlooked the bigger picture. But, luckily, I have ended up catching a much larger fish – below you will find details of the corporate reorganisation of Damco’s owner, AP Møller-Maersk Group (APMM), effective 1 January 2019, which has been obtained by The Loadstar but has yet to be announced publicly – at least to my knowledge.
My …
The post Market Insight Exclusive: Revealed – the AP Møller-Maersk Group...
https://theloadstar.co.uk/market-insight-exclusive-revealed-ap-moller-maersk-group-reorganisation/
Commentary: ECB faces QE dilemma
By Marchel Alexandrovich in London
While Italy continues to dominate the headlines, the European Central Bank is more interested in the big picture: the continuing economic recovery, building inflationary pressure, the end of quantitative easing and guiding interest rate expectations. As its bond-buying programme starts to wind down, the ECB is increasingly relying on the flow from QE reinvestments to make its presence felt in the markets. The uneven nature of...
A couple of years have passed since the management team at DSV promised it would strike another large deal – now, given market talk spurred by the latest corporate events at AP Møller-Maersk Group (APMM), DSV’s most likely target might be APMM’s freight forwarding arm, Damco FF.
Deal or no deal?
Sources with knowledge of internal affairs have told me that as Damco restructures and reorganises its logistics and freight forwarding businesses, calls from head office have …
The post Analysis: is DSV...
https://theloadstar.co.uk/analysis-dsv-ready-move-damcos-freight-forwarding-business/
Commentary: End of the ‘flat world’
By David Skilling in Singapore
A few years before the 2008 financial crisis, journalist Tom Friedman captured the zeitgeist with his argument that ‘the world is flat’, that all competitors in the global economy have an equal opportunity to succeed.
But if it was once possible to argue that (Western-led) politics and technology were creating a flat world, today they are combining to create a more lumpy, multipolar system. Developments in North America, Europe...
http://www.allaboutshipping.co.uk/2018/10/05/end-of-the-flat-world-city-lecture-with-james-bullard/
The past few years have been particularly hard for Damco.
Its move from Copenhagen to The Hague in February 2013 was a disaster. It went from profit to a net loss of $111m that year, partly attributed to one-off relocation costs, which widened in 2014, spiraling to -$293m, and parent Maersk admitted that the forwarder had “lost its way”.
Damco financials 2014
Damco financials 2015
Damco’s plan to be “closer to its customer base” backfired badly when …
The post Market Insight: Damco FF – a people...
https://theloadstar.co.uk/market-insight-damco-ff-people-business-many/