-- Bear Stearns (Scott Burk),
-- Cantor Fitzgerald (Natasha Boyden),
-- Jefferies & Company (Douglas Mavrinac) and
-- Lazard Capital Markets (Urs Dur) will participate in a Virtual Panel
discussion on the dry bulk shipping sector on Wednesday, September 5, 2007
at 11:00 am EDT.
The Dry Bulk Analyst Virtual Forum is organized by Capital Link, a New York
based Investor Relations and Financial Communications firm with strategic
focus on shipping, in cooperation with NASDAQ International.
ACCESS TO THE DISCUSSION
The panel discussion can be accessed only through a live audio webcast on
Capital Link's Shipping website at www.CapitalLinkShipping.com, where it
will remain archived afterwards.
Participants to live webcast should register on the website approximately
ten minutes prior to the start of the webcast. Please go to
www.CapitallinkShipping.com to register and access the event.
PANEL STRUCTURE
The panel discussion will be moderated by Isabella Schidrich, Managing
Director of NASDAQ International. The focus of the discussion (and the Q&A)
will be on sector trends and fundamentals, as opposed to company
recommendations. The discussion will cover four main topics: demand,
supply, freight rates and asset values, and valuations, focusing on current
trends and the sector's outlook.
QUESTIONS FROM PARTICIPANTS
Participants can submit questions to the analysts prior to or during the
event through the special event page at www.CapitalLinkShipping.com
TRANSCRIPT
A transcript of the panel discussion will be publicly available within
approximately 48 hours after the event and those interested can request a
copy of it through www.CapitalLinkShipping.com.
About Dry Bulk Shipping:
International shipping plays a vital role in global trade given that 2/3 of
the world's goods are transported by sea. The shipping industry provides a
cost effective and practical means of transportation internationally of
large volumes of cargoes.
The dry bulk carrier market refers to the transportation of homogeneous
commodities in bulk. Dry bulk commodities are divided into two distinct
categories, major bulks and minor bulks. Major bulks include iron ore, coal
and grain, which are usually shipped on the larger size Capesize and
Panamax vessels and comprise about 67% of dry bulk trade. Minor bulks are
fertilizers, steels, sugars, cement etc., which are shipped in smaller more
versatile vessels such as Handymax and Handysize, and comprise about 33% of
the dry bulk commodities trade.
Dry bulk carrier ownership is fragmented with many owners and operators of
shipping tonnage, including independent operators, state-controlled
shipping companies and proprietary owners. Vessels utilised for transport
of dry bulk cargoes are usually classified into four categories based on
their carrying capacity in deadweight tons (DWT) (i) handysize
(10,000-39,999 DWT) (ii) handymax/supramax (40,000-59,999 DWT) (iii)
panamax (60,000-99,999 DWT) and (iv) capesize (higher than 100,000 DWT).
The shipping industry is highly cyclical, experiencing volatility in
profitability, vessel values and charter rates resulting from changes in
the supply of and demand for shipping capacity. Fluctuations result from
the interaction of various factors between demand and supply. The demand
for vessels is influenced by global and regional economic conditions,
international trade developments, port congestion, trading routes and
weather pattern changes, crop yields, armed conflicts, political
developments, embargoes and strikes, demand for consumer goods, dry bulk
commodities, and crude oil and oil products.
Supply of shipping capacity is mainly a function of the delivery of new
vessels and the number of older vessels scrapped and is also affected,
among other factors, by port congestion and regulation of maritime
transportation practices by governmental and international authorities.
Dry bulk companies listed on US Exchanges include Diana Shipping (
Dry Bulk Analyst Virtual Forum Wednesday, September 5, 2007
at 11:00 am EDT
Container Analyst Virtual Forum Tuesday, September 18, 2007
at 11:00 am EDT
Tanker Analyst Virtual Forum Thursday, September 20, 2007
at 11:00 am EDT
London – Invest in Shipping Forum Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Dry Bulk CEO Virtual Forum Wednesday, January 30, 2008
at 11:00 am EST
New York - 2nd Invest in Shipping Forum Thursday, March 20, 2008
About www.CapitalLinkShipping.com:
Capital Link Shipping is a web based resource whose objective is to
facilitate investor knowledge and understanding of shipping and its listed
companies, and to facilitate the exchange of information among listed
companies, industry participants and investors. The site provides
information on the major shipping and stock market indices, as well as on
all shipping stocks. It also features industry reports from major industry
participants and interviews with CEOs, analysts and other market
participants.
The information on the website is not an offer to buy or sell any kind of
securities nor does it constitute investment advice of any kind. Capital
Link does not represent or warrant the accuracy of the information in this
site. The user of the site acknowledges that he/she accesses the
information at his/her own risk and cannot hold Capital Link liable for any
matter in any way and will use the website in accordance with the Terms and
Conditions specified on the website.
The website is operated by Capital Link, a New York based Investor
Relations and Financial Communications firm with a strategic focus on
shipping.
Contact Information: Contact for Capital Link Shipping: Nicolas Bornozis President Capital Link, Inc. 230 Park Avenue - Suite 1536, New York, N.Y. 10169 Tel. (212) 661-7566 Fax (212) 661-7526 E-mail: nbornozis@capitallink.com http://www.capitallinkshipping.com http://www.capitallink.com