The World’s Top 20 Container Ports 2014 by Cargo Capacity

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Ships carry much of the global trade goods across countries and continents. Over 5,000 commercial ships transport all types of goods cheaply and efficiently across vast distances.

The graph below shows the world’s largest container posts in 2104:

Worlds Top 20 Container Ports 2014

 

Source: Trade – The whole world in boxes, Deutsche Welle

Asia has emerged as the largest region in terms of trade goods’ export and import. As the above chart shows, none of the North American or European countries are in the top 10 spots. Though LA and Long Beach are major ports in the US, in terms of cargo capacity handled they pale in comparison to Shanghai or Shenzhen.

Infographic: Cargo Delivery to the International Space Station

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The International Space Station(ISS) flies about 205-270 miles high above the earth. Have your ever wondered how cargo gets delivered to the space station?

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International_Space_Station

Source: Wikipedia

The following infographic shows how cargo gets transported to the ISS:

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Cargo Delivery to Space Station

Currently four types of unmanned vehicles deliver supplies to the ISS.

Source: How Cargoes Are Delivered to ISS, Sputnik

Being so high in the space, one gets a wonderful view of the world below the ISS. Here is how New York City looks from space as taken by NASA’s Scott Kelly:

New York City from Space

Source: NASA

 

 

Two Charts on MENA Markets

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The MENA region includes countries in the Middle East and North Africa. MENA markets are classified as frontier markets and are rich in natural resources particularly oil and natural gas. As the price of oil has plunged some of these countries are better prepared to weather this downturn than others. The following chart shows that some of these countries have levels of reserves and low government debt:

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High-Reserves of MENA COuntries

While we group MENA as one region, there are wide differences between the individual countries. Oil is a significant driver of the economy only in six of the countries. The remaining five countries in MENA are oil importers. These countries should benefit from lower oil crisis.

MENA Oil Importers and Exporters

Source: MENA Markets: More Than Just About Oil,  Franklin Templeton Investments

Related ETFs:

  • SPDR S&P Emerging Middle East & Africa ETF (GAF)
  • Market Vectors Gulf States ETF (MES)

Disclosure: No Positions

Billion Dollar Startups Founded By Immigrants

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Immigrants are some of the largest successful community in the U.S. Highly educated and skilled immigrants dominate the high-tech industry in the U.S. especially in Silicon Valley. Many of the well-known startup success stories were founded by immigrants. Unlike other countries plenty of American venture capital firms are willing to bet on the next great startup.

According to a research report:

The research finds that among the billion dollar startup companies, immigrant founders have created an average of approximately 760 jobs per company in the United States. The collective value of the 44 immigrant-founded companies is $168 billion, which is close to half the value of the stock markets of Russia or Mexico.

Among the countries where immigrants came from and founded billion dollar startups, the top three countries are India, Canada and the UK.

The following table shows the startups with the high number of jobs created:

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Immigrant Startups and Jobs Created

Source: Immigrants and Billion Dollar Startups by Stuart Anderson, National Foundation for American Policy, Mar 2016

Tesla’s (TSLA)founder Elon Musk is an immigrant and so is Garrett Camp, the co-founder of Uber.

The full report is worth a review as it contains many other fascinating details.

Disclosure: No Positions

Top Trade Partners of U.K.

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The OECD has released a report arguing against UK’s exit from the European Union. The report states that exiting the EU would lead to a decline in British GDP in the future with economic growth stunted.

From the report:

Membership of the European Union has contributed to the economic prosperity of the United Kingdom. Uncertainty about the outcome of the referendum has already started to weaken growth in the United Kingdom. A UK exit (Brexit) would be a major negative shock to the UK economy, with economic fallout in the rest of the OECD, particularly other European countries. In some respects, Brexit would be akin to a tax on GDP, imposing a persistent and rising cost on the economy that would not be incurred if the UK remained in the EU.

By 2020, GDP would be over 3% smaller than otherwise (with continued EU membership), equivalent to a cost per household of GBP 2200 (in today’s prices). In the longer term, structural impacts would take hold through the channels of capital, immigration and lower technical progress. In particular, labour productivity would be held back by a drop in foreign direct investment and a smaller pool of skills. The extent of foregone GDP would increase over time. By 2030, in a central scenario GDP would be over 5% lower than otherwise – with the cost of Brexit  equivalent to GBP 3200 per household (in today’s prices). The effects would be even larger in a more pessimistic scenario and remain negative even in the optimistic scenario. Brexit would also hold back GDP in other European economies, particularly in the near term resulting from heightened uncertainty would create about the future of Europe. In contrast, continued UK membership in the European Union and further reforms of the Single Market would enhance living standards on both sides of the Channel.‌

Source: The Economic Consequences of Brexit: A Taxing Decision. OECD

The British economy will suffer due to a Brexit since trade relationship between the EU and the UK is high. The chart below shows the top trade partners of the UK:

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UK Trade Partners

Source: Schroders Economic and Strategy Viewpoint, Schroders

The EU is the largest export market for the UK followed by the U.S. About 45% of British exports go to the EU. Britain’s export to China is just 3.3%. On the imports side, the EU is the largest source of British imports.