One of the strongest groups we follow has been the shipping stocks. They have gotten
beaten up enough lately that investors are asking themselves: has their run ended?
My colleague here at DGA, Chip Hanlon, who serves as lead advisor on a shipping
portfolio for Claymore Securities, refreshed his research with a channel check on current
voyager rates and charter demand. These are really the drivers of shipping securities
stock prices, as they go hand in hand in determining the asset values of a shipping
company's fleet.

Meanwhile, I (the Chart Whisperer, as Chip has taken to calling me lately... embarrassing)
have looked from my usual technical vantage point where this group stands, given the
volatility we have seen.

First, fundamentally Chip reports a generally firm market, albeit a two-sided one: the dry
bulk shippers have been more than impressive as rates have been astonishingly strong all
year, providing strong cash flows. Last week's hiccup in the Baltic Dry Index seems to us
just a pause in the break neck increases over the past 3 months. For the fuel tanker
companies, however, the market is softer. Seasonally, this is the time of year that buyers
line up their charters for...read more "Shipping Stocks: Has the Trend Changed?" at GreenFaucet.com