- Whipsaw of sentiment as 104% tariffs are introduced on Chinese imports by the US.
- Stocks reverse as the world’s top economies become locked in a trade war.
- Nikkei falls 3.3% while the FTSE 100 is set to erase Tuesday’s gains.
- Renewed appetite for gold amid the volatility, with the precious metal rising more than 1.7%.
- Volatility hits the bond markets and the allure of Treasuries as a safe haven asset dulls.
- Brent crude drops more than 2% to trade around $61 a barrel – levels...
Insight
Death of Diplomacy – part 3
by John Faraclas
Further to part 2, we are faced with undiplomatic and in some cases undemocratic manoeuvres – that the bargaining chips in what one might generously call “the new diplomacy” are tariff threats and… migrant flows and expulsions.
Moreover, the death throes of diplomacy turns out to have been a warning that the rules of global trade were going to be rewritten, too –and now it seems that there are no such rules any more.
Without genuine diplomacy, where do things stand between...
https://allaboutshipping.co.uk/2025/04/08/death-of-diplomacy-part-3/
Market update: Hopes for trade negotiations and bargain hunting help stocks stage rebound.
- FTSE 100 hangs onto gains, helped by a rebound on Wall Street.
- Hopes for trade negotiations send relief through markets.
- Bargain hunters dive in to pick up battered stocks.
- Gold regains lustre as a safe-haven asset after recent falls.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown:
‘’With hints of negotiations in the air, relief has flooded through financial markets, with the FTSE 100 rebounding from a chunk of yesterday’s losses. Investors have taken the...
Tariffs, turmoil and fragmentation: How Trump’s trade bomb spells trouble for shipping
Broker warns that even shielded sectors may feel the pain
Fighting for Freedom of Navigation
by Steven Jones MNM FRSA AFNI
Admiral Pavlopoulos’s illuminating presentation at the 2nd Maritime Security Conference provided a sobering assessment of the current threats to maritime security, particularly along what he termed the “axis of war and turbulence” stretching from the Black Sea to the Red Sea. His observation that “TRUST has to be restored” in these vital shipping corridors prompted reflection on the fundamental importance of freedom of navigation in our global system.
While his...
https://allaboutshipping.co.uk/2025/04/07/fighting-for-freedom-of-navigation/
The trade war is here and it’s worse than expected. Here come the economic headwinds for shipping
Economists see impact to US economy after Washington’s tariffs and Chinese response defy expectations
Market Report: Stocks fall further as global game of tariff chess gathers pace
- FTSE 100 and European futures down
- US Stocks see worst drop in 5 years
- US treasury yields at 7-month highs
- Japan promises bold and speedy response to US tariffs
- EU trade commissioner in talks with Washington today
- 3-year low for Brent Crude at around $69.5 per barrel
Derren Nathan, head of equity research Hargreaves Lansdown:
“Despite months of sabre-rattling by Donald Trump, markets appear to have been unprepared for the depth and breadth of tariffs announced by the White House....
Trump tariff ‘nuclear bomb’ on container trade has freight forwarders bracing for demand slump
US president’s ‘discounted’ reciprocal charges bring levy on a steel car bumper from China to 97.5%, Flexport estimates
Could nuclear help US cure maritime woes despite continued hurdles?
Rules and technology still needs to be worked out, but some energy building behind nuclear