RELENTLESS DESCENT

Baltic Dry Index

I have never witnessed anything like this. A GROSS non confirmation to the world stock markets.

WHY WE SHOULD BE AWARE OF THE BDI:
Because it provides "an assessment of the price of moving the major raw materials by sea," as the Baltic puts it, it provides both a rare window into the highly opaque and diffuse shipping market and an accurate barometer of the volume of global trade.
The BDI is a good leading indicator for economic growth and production. After all, it doesn't deal with container ships carrying finished goods. It deals with the precursors to production: bulk carriers carrying building materials, cement, grain, coal, and iron. Unlike stock and bond markets, the BDI "is totally devoid of speculative content," says Howard Simons, an economist and columnist at The Street.com. People don't book freighters unless they have cargo to move. http://slate.msn.com/id/2090303

*Something is amiss, that's for sure. WE get EXAGERATED manipulated CPI and PPI data, don't even ask how they come up with NO INFLATION, the BLS deal in smoke and mirrors and general BS.

Duratek