Shipping lines. Scattering the fleet.

The Economist. Jun 19th 2014. (Click here to original link)

China’s regulators scupper a vast container-shipping alliance.

Sailing on alone SIZE is considered a great advantage in the container-shipping industry. The largest of the colossal vessels that now tote metal boxes between the world’s ports are twice as big as those launched a decade ago.

Spain’s economic recovery. Bouncing back

THE ECONOMIST. Jun 26th 2014. (Click here to original link)

A surprisingly strong recovery, largely export-driven.

Rejoice, Rajoy, rejoice SPAIN is, as ever, in transition. Two old totems of pride, King Juan Carlos and the national soccer team, have crashed and burned.

Trading the yuan

THE ECONOMIST Jun 21st 2014 | HONG KONG | (Click here to original new)

Buzz about the rise of China’s currency has run far ahead of sedate reality

IF HEADLINES translated into trading volumes, the yuan would be well on its way to dominating the world’s currency markets. It once again graced front pages this week after moves to lift its status in London, the world’s biggest foreign-exchange market. This was the latest instalment of a five-year-long public-relations campaign. Since 2009, when China first declared its intention to promote the yuan internationally, a string of announcements and milestones has cast the Chinese currency as a putative rival to the dollar.

The hype rests on several seemingly impressive numbers. Yuan deposits beyond China’s borders have increased tenfold in the past five years. The “dim sum” bond market for yuan-denominated debt issued outside China has gone from non-existence to a dozen issuances a month. And the yuan is the second-most-used currency in the world for trade finance.