A handful of interesting market developments

> This worrying graphic is from Bloomberg. It shows how the Baltic Dry Index, a measure of international freight costs that had risen to stratospheric levels, has plummeted 90%. International trade operates on a system of credit notes and guarantees and things can get a bit difficult if you don't have confidence in your counterparty. The silver lining is that when things get going again shipping costs will be nice and low, but for now the take-away message is that the wheels of international trade seem to be screeching to a halt.


> From Aussie newspaper, TheAge:

"Kuwaiti traders staged another walkout on Sunday and protested outside the stock market as shares in the oil-rich Gulf region plunged amid growing expectations of a global recession.

The traders, who deserted the stock market on Thursday, the business week's final day, left the trading chamber again after the index dived more than 300 points a few minutes after the opening.

About 30 of the traders marched to the nearby council of ministers building where the cabinet was holding an emergency session to discuss a bill to guarantee bank deposits.

"We want the government to intervene to rescue the bourse and traders.

"We want the government to buy stocks. This month, I have already lost half of my investments in the bourse," one of the protesters, Hussein Tubayekh, told AFP."

> Bespoke Investment Group provide this stunning graphic that shows the dollar difference between platinum and gold. Gold may be losing it's shine but if platinum continues to fall at this rate it will soon be competing on price with coal.


From Bespoke: 'Men everywhere holding out to buy that platinum engagement ring can rejoice in the fact that the metal has declined from a high of $2,276/ounce in March to just $793/ounce today. But what's really crazy is how close platinum is trading to gold. Even though platinum is 30x rarer than gold, it is currently trading at just an 11% premium. Earlier in the year, there was a $1,300/ounce price difference between the two metals, but that difference is now just $83.'