Did You Know That…

…How Donald Trump might steal Christmas. Toymakers are being walloped by tariffs. Times are bleak in Toyland. So bleak that Bratz dolls’ flowing locks are at risk. “There is no American factory anywhere that can make hair for dolls,” fumes Isaac Larian, boss of MGA Entertainment, the Los Angeles company that makes the fashion figurines. “What am I supposed to do? Sell bald dolls?” The killjoy behind all the gloom? Donald Trump. The president’s tariffs are proving particularly burdensome for toymakers. Around 80% of toys sold in America are made in China, the main target in Mr Trump’s trade war. Levies of 145% on Chinese goods are clobbering an industry specialised in churning out cheap delights for children, often at low margins. Parents may be willing to spend $15 on a Care Bear (cut, sewn and filled in China), even if it is played with only once. At $36, though, they may tell sellers to get stuffed.

…Should investors spend the trade war in India? Mumbai may be a haven, but it is not a safe one. Listen to this story

…Fresh-faced financial reporters are swiftly disabused of the idea that there are “safe havens” in financial markets. With one eye on the word count, a grizzled sub-editor will cut the extraneous word and growl “All havens are safe.” Assets that retain their value during a market downturn (gold, the Swiss franc, the Japanese yen) should be known by the one-word moniker “havens”, the sub-editor will insist—“safe havens” have no place in newspaper copy. In the real world, too, safe havens are becoming hard to find. The assets listed above have seen heavy inflows during the turmoil that has followed President Donald Trump’s announcement of swingeing tariffs on April 2nd. Gold has hit a new high. The yen has surged. Some short-term Swiss debt now carries a negative yield. That has left investors scouting for new, cheaper havens. Is the best option to be found in South Asia? Indian stocks are an unlikely candidate for haven status. Emerging markets are generally considered to be on the riskier side of finance: they do well when investors are feeling comfortable, rather than when America’s S&P 500 index has fallen by 9%, as it has so far this year. 

…CMA CGM closes Santos Brasil acquisition. French giant confirms plan to launch a mandatory tender to acquire the remaining shares in Brazilian terminal operator. CMA CGM gains regulatory approval to acquire controlling share in Santos Brasil, which owns South America’s largest box facility.

…The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Realterm and Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) have officially opened a new consolidated cargo facility at JFK airport - the first major cargo infrastructure upgrade at the site in 25 years.

…No relief for transpacific trade despite talk of lower China tariff.

·         Trump says tariffs on China will come down ‘substantially’, but China maintains there are no trade talks underway with US

·         It will take time for fallout from trade war to hit US store shelves because of the length of ocean transits and US inventory levels

·         Carriers continue to reduce transpacific capacity; Ocean Alliance sees highest level of blank sailings, according to eeSea.

Trump has already backtracked on reciprocal tariffs on all countries but China, on Mexican and Canadian goods covered by existing free trade agreements, and on imports of Chinese electronics. Is the 145% tariff on the rest of Chinese goods the next to fall?

…Antwerp overtakes Rotterdam in first quarter of 2025. The Belgian port handled 100,000 more teu than its Dutch rival. The Port of Rotterdam cited bad weather and a walkout at one of its terminals as reasons why it slipped behind Antwerp, though throughput was still up year on year.

…Transpacific trade caught in US-China ‘pressure test’, but hopes for recovery remain.

·         A potential market recovery later this year depends on easing trade tensions and the pace of US inventory depletion

·         China-based cross-border logistics provider expects the first round of inventory shortages will hit the US in May

·         ‘Covid-like’ shortages and blank sailings may not lead to ‘Covid-like’ rate rebound.

Caught in the crossfire of escalating US-China tariffs, transpacific shipping lines are slashing sailings and bracing for ‘Covid-like’ supply shortages — but hopes for a late-year freight market rebound persist, if trade tensions ease and US inventories run down.

…More pressure on transpacific rates as carriers bet on a China-US trade deal. Mainline operators are pushing for higher transpacific rates in May, betting on a trade deal that could trigger a return of mass Chinese export volumes to the US. While rates face downward pressure, carriers announced price rises for next month, driving marginal gains to transpacific rates last week. On Friday, the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index showed the Shanghai-US west coast rate rose 2% from the previous week, to $2,141 per 40ft.

…Mexican ports expand, with investment coming from public and private purses. Mexican ports are in expansion mode. If the tariff offensive by its northern neighbour raised questions over future trade flows with the US, it does not appear to impact ambitions for further expansion, both in the private and public sectors. At Veracruz, the nation’s top Atlantic gateway, CICE Group opened the first phase of a new terminal for containers and mixed cargo in the port’s north area.

…China and Vietnam signed dozens of co-operating agreements on everything from AI to joint maritime patrols to railway development. The agreements came as China’s leader, Xi Jinping, visited Vietnam on the first leg of his tour of South East Asia.

…The Democrats Party in Hong Kong held a prelimenary vote among the members to dissolve itself. The news marks a symbolic moment for the former Britiish territory.

…The dollar dropped to a three-year low against a basket of currencies amid Mr. Trump’s tirade. The price of gold, a haven for investors in times of stress, rose above $3,500 a troy ounce for the first time.

…There’d be no tequila without bats. They are needed to pollinate the agave plant from which Mexican liquor is made.

…According to a study by a Hamburg consumer centre, up to 14% remains in a toothpaste tube even after it’s been thoroughly squeezed.

…This DYKT news bulletin will be published on the website as well, go to www.eaanetwork.com.

Have a good rest of the week !