The organisers of the largest shipping conference – the annual Transpacific Maritime (TPM) conference in Long Beach – yesterday cancelled the event at the last minute due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“This decision was made following recent guidance from health …

SEEKING ALPHA‘s The Heisenberg writes:
A legion of investors accustomed to uninterrupted gains just witnessed one of the worst weeks for US equities since World War II.
In terms of rapidity, the selloff was unprecedented.
COVID-19 was the proximate cause, …

BBC reports:
The US has reported its first death from the new coronavirus, in the north-west state of Washington.
Officials said the patient was a man in his 50s with underlying health conditions.
President Donald Trump said more cases were …

CNBC reports:
Factory activity in China contracted at the fastest pace on record in February, highlighting the damage from the coronavirus outbreak on the world’s second-largest economy.
China’s official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to a record low of 35.7 …

MARKETWATCH reports:
Stock-market investors who bet on private-equity-backed listings have been badly disappointed.
Luxury-car maker Aston Martin and discount retailer Poundland are two of the companies that buyout groups floated which haven’t lived up to their promise of delivering shareholder …

Despite continued weak demand, the comprehensive index of the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) edged down just 1.3% this week, with the US west coast component actually recording a gain.
This provides further evidence that, for now at least, rates …

As volumes plunge amid the coronavirus crisis, South Korea’s shipping industry is “heading for disaster”.
Other than cancelled passenger flights, so far there has been limited impact on cargo operations from the outbreak within Korea, and ports and airports function …