A New Hope

The Baltic Dry Index has been falling for months, but that may be changing.

If you look closely, the index has registered its first X since September.

This is a good sign for the badly beaten shipping sector, as well as the global economy. For those unfamiliar with the BDI, it is a benchmark for global shipping rates, and is a measure of the impact the credit crisis is having on the real economy. Rates are falling as letters of credit have become increasingly rare. While this short term trend change may not translate into a bull market in equities (there are plenty of other problems), this may help provide a bottom for shipping stocks.