Shanghai Shipping Exchange launched “Belt and Road “shipping indices
On the last Wednesday of July, Shanghai Shipping Exchange started two new shipping indices called the “Belt and Road.” The indices are supposed to track the trading data and shipping freight rates related to the Silk Road and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (Belt and Road) projects.
Belt and Road Freight Trade Index (SRFTI) will track the volume and value of international trade between China and 66 countries on the way of Silk Road. The second index, the Maritime Silk Road Freight Index (MSRFI), is going to monitor the shipping freight rates of imported and exported containerised cargoes, imported dry bulk cargoes, and imported crude oil.
The basis of both indices will equal 100 points, with set date in January 2015, and they are going to be released on the last Monday of every month.
RBS makes £293m profit in second quarter
The Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) banking group, which is partly owned by UK taxpayers, announced outstanding results for the second quarter. After massive losses totaling £446m in the first quarter of 2015, the company reported the profit of £293m in the second quarter of this year. This profits are even outmarching the results for the same period of 2014, when RBS got £230m.
This positive outcome should speed up the decision of Chancellor George Osborne to sell down the government's majority stake in the bank this year.
Yet the company is still expecting losses associated with misconduct and litigation costs that can reach £459m in the quarter. Chief executive Ross McEwan said: "One word of warning - this will continue to be a noisy year as we continue to go further and faster on restructuring and continue to deal with conduct issues of the past."