The Baltic Dry Index

The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping costs for commodities, fell last week as a four-month Argentine farmers' protest curbed Atlantic cargoes.

For those invested in shipping related stocks, you may want to keep track on this via:

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The Edge 19 July 08 - Beating The Credict Crunch

The recent spike in credit spreads caught a lot of investors off guard but there are products now available, even in the private bank market, that can offer a good hedge against short-term credit spread widening.
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Oil prices retreat, but fears of rebound remain

After shooting up at blinding speed, the price of crude oil has come down even faster - plunging US$10.50 a barrel in just two days. This reversal and a quick rally late yesterday following a Nigerian pipeline explosion have got the market confused.

'It's anybody's guess where prices will head next,' one trader said, while another economist believes that this is just a temporary respite and 'not a tipping point yet'.

After hitting an all-time high of over US$147 a barrel just last Friday - and threatening to breach US$150 - crude oil had slipped to just over US$134 in Asian trade yesterday afternoon, following the slide in New York on Tuesday and Wednesday.

This meant relief for some and fresh worries for others. Singapore Airlines' stocks gained 38 cents or 2.6 per cent from the latest oil price fall to close at S$15.06. Meanwhile, the stocks of alternative energy players were hit. Biofuel/palm oil stock Wilmar fell 23 cents to S$4.31, while Straits Asia, which has coal mine assets, closed at S$2.78, down 15 cents.

In London, oil rose above US$136 a barrel yesterday as investors resumed buying after the recent sharp drop and boosted by fresh cuts to Nigerian oil output.
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Exposure to Fannie and Freddie drags Asia down 16 July '08

Stocks in Asia plunged yesterday as investors reacted to news that the largest banks in the region had billions of dollars invested in debt securities issued by crisis-hit US mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Reports of depositors queuing to withdraw their money from failed US mortgage lender IndyMac Bank on Monday also revived fears that more US banks could collapse, sending shivers through the wider financial sector.

In Japan, the Nikkei-225 index ended 2 per cent lower as banking and insurance stocks tumbled after local business daily The Nikkei reported that the country's three biggest banks, including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, had some 4.7 trillion yen (S$60 billion) worth of exposure to debt securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as at end-March.
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