Hunger for resources to prompt shipping surge

Bulk carriers, tankers, container ships and liquefied natural gas carriers are all expected to see their fleet sizes expand signficantly to meet demand from fast-growing economies.

Greater capacity will be required to feed a tripling in China's thirst for oil, as well as an increasing appetite for coal.

Around 60pc of coal consumption will come from China in 2030 and India's coal consumption will more than double between 2010 and 2030, according to the report.

"The marine world in 2030 will be almost unrecognisable owing to the rise of emerging countries, new consumer classes and resource demand," said the report, which was two years in the making.

Bolstered by demand in the construction sector, India is expected to see the largest growth in steel consumption and although China's appetite for the metal will lessen, it is still expected to be the biggest steel consumer in 2030.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/9980781/Hunger-for-resources-to-prompt-shipping-surge.html

Goldman Sachs: Short Gold!

Goldman sees gold falling to $1270 by the end of 2014.

“We see risks to current prices as skewed to the downside as we move through 2013,” Goldman analysts Damien Courvalin and Jeffrey Currie told clients. “In fact, should our expectation for lower gold prices continue to prove correct, the fall in prices could end up being faster and larger than our forecast.

The bank cut its three-month view on gold to $1,530 an ounce from $1,615. It also dropped its six-month forecast to $1,490 from $1,600 and its 12-month gold outlook to $1,390 from $1,550.

Gold is often considered a refuge from economic uncertainty and a means of safeguarding wealth. It’s also viewed as an inflation hedge. Considering the Fed has been buying $85 billion a month in Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities in an effort to spur the economy, one would think the precious metal would do well in this type of environment.

http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2013/04/10/goldman-sachs-short-gold/

Yen triggers a gold rush

The weak yen has triggered a gold rush, literally, among Japanese households, reflecting how bold new economic policies are shaking up long-entrenched deflationary attitudes, freeing up dormant assets, and sparking new economic activity.

While gold prices have softened globally, the declining value of the yen against the dollar makes the precious metal worth a lot more in Japan. Japanese families are now scrambling to dig out gold objects from closets and jewelry boxes, and selling it to metals dealers, converting their passive assets into cash that some say they plan to put to work on everything from vacations to children's allowances.

Long lines have formed this week outside jewelers from Tokyo to Osaka, with the price of gold in Japan jumping 4.8% this week as the dollar came close to hitting ¥100, up from about ¥80 late last year.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323820304578412283865306950.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hpp_MIDDLEThirdNews

UN report sees 6pc economic growth for E Africa

Economic growth in East Africa, including Kenya, is expected to remain among the fastest in Africa this year aided by natural resource discoveries, improved agricultural performance, and economic diversification, a new report showed.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (Uneca) said the region is expected to realise a six per cent growth this year compared to 5.6 per cent in 2012—the second highest for the continent this year.

http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/UN-report-sees-6pc-economic-growth-for-E-Africa-/-/539546/1736618/-/ct3jvv/-/index.html

Optimistic investors display levels of bullishness

A string of positive economic news from the US in recent weeks suggests that the world's largest economy is charting a path to growth.

Hedge funds and other major speculators are putting their money on global economic recovery and rising prices for commodities, such as oil and cattle, amid growing signs that the US is on the road to recovery.

Markets have also stayed calm amid turmoil in Europe as investors greeted an eleventh-hour bail-out struck between the island and an EU-IMF troika of lenders, which averted the island's financial collapse and a possible eurozone exit.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/9964880/Investors-peg-hopes-on-global-economic-recovery.html

Temporary relief for Cyprus, eyes now on Italy

The Cypriot financial crisis is solved for now, but attention will now turn to the euro zone's other flashpoints, says Olivetree Securities' Simon Maughan. Italy is next on the list.

SHOWS:

1. SIMON MAUGHAN, GLOBAL FINANCIAL STRATEGIST AT OLIVETREE SECURITIES, SAYING:

'Cyprus has received temporary relief and how temporary that proves to be will depend on a couple of things - first of all, how effective capital controls are in keeping money within Cyprus; and secondly, whether the Cypriot economy can actually function with capital controls. But for now, it's happy days and bank shares are on the way up. 
(QUESTION: If there is a risk of contagion to the European banking system, where is next in the firing line?)
Well Cyprus of course, although there's a temporary resolution there, solves nothing for the rest of Europe. The biggest problem is there's an absence of growth, there's ongoing austerity and there's no real prospect of growth picking up. The immediate attention now focused to Italy which is still functioning or not functioning depending on how you want to look at it without a government and whether we can get any kind of answers there. But we still have a very large amount of private credit to GDP in a number of European nations significantly more so than in the US. And that kind of issue is nowhere near resolved. 
(QUESTION: Moody's this morning issued a note on the French banking system, kept them on negative watch and said big risk from recession and banks' reliance on wholesale funding. How big a problem is France and when will it be a problem for us?)
Well France is the mother lode of all problems for the EU because even if there are ways and means in place to provide liquidity to Spain and Italy and that is highly doubtful, there is absolutely no way that the EU would be able to deal with the French banking system. But the dominos are lined up and they're named in pretty reasonable and well-known order. Spain, Italy and then France. So we've probably got to deal with another crisis in Spain and another pre-crisis in Italy before we deal with the big problem which is France.'


http://www.4-traders.com/news/Temporary-relief-for-Cyprus-eyes-now-on-Italy-Analyst--16580155/

Apple Seen Raising Dividend More Than 50% to $16 Billion

Apple will probably lift its quarterly dividend 56 percent to $4.14 a share, for an annual payout of $15.7 billion, according to the average estimate from six analysts. The resulting yield of 3.7 percent would be higher than 86 percent of the companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index paying dividends. Apple could fund a payout with existing cash flow without using profit from overseas, which can be subject to extra taxes, said Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray Cos.

Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, who a year ago this month reinstated a dividend and announced a $10 billion buyback, faces mounting pressure to take bolder steps to pay out more of Apple’s $137.1 billion in cash and investments. Investors including David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital Inc. are pushing formore money as growth slows and competition from rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) intensifies.

“The accumulation of cash has become excessive,” Brian White, an analyst at New York-based Topeka Capital Markets Inc., said in an interview. He rates the shares a buy, with an $888 price target. “It doesn’t matter which bearish scenario you forecast, they’re never going to need this much cash.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-18/apple-seen-raising-dividend-more-than-50-to-16-billion.html