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From Maritime Executive:
Ocean carriers have returned to ordering vessels between 8,000-10,000 teu in large numbers, suggesting that either overcapacity is brewing ahead, or unusual service developments are in the pipeline. By the end of this year, 55 vessels averaging 8,600 teu will already have been delivered, increasing the sector’s capacity by a remarkable 18%, well ahead of global cargo growth, and a further 40 are due for delivery next year, which will increase it by another 11.6%. Moreover, 45 more are due for delivery in 2015, adding yet another 11.6% y-on-y growth.
Source: Clarksons
More at Maritime Executive

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and Bolivian President Evo Morales are seen here at a pro-union event. USAID’s departure from Ecuador marks the second time this year that the agency has been forced out of a South American country after Pres. Morales ousted it from Bolivia in May.
From an article in the Christian Science Monitor:
USAID expects to close its doors in Ecuador by September 2014 due to an increasingly acrimonious relationship with President Rafael Correa. This comes six months after it was kicked out of Bolivia.
“This is both another sign that relations between the US and Ecuador are in some ways continuing to deteriorate, but also that US influence in the region isn’t what it used to be,” says Steve Striffler, a professor of Latin American studies at the University of New Orleans who studies Ecuador. “These countries are able to carve out independence from the US in a way they weren’t in the past.
“The idea they would have kicked out USAID 10 or 15 years ago is unimaginable,” Mr. Striffler says.
The US government’s reputation in the region has taken a series of hits in recent months, with revelations that the National Security Agency...

Source: In These Times

Source: NYTimes