Red Sea Attacks Disrupt Global Trade

March 7, 2024-In the first two months of 2024, Suez Canal trade dropped by 50 percent from a year earlier while trade through the Panama Canal fell by 32 percent, disrupting supply chains and distorting key macroeconomic indicators
In the past few months, global trade has been held back by disruptions at two critical shipping routes.

Attacks on vessels in the Red Sea area reduced traffic through the Suez Canal, the shortest maritime route between Asia and Europe, through which about 15 percent of global maritime trade volume normally passes.

Instead, several shipping companies diverted their ships around the Cape of Good Hope. This increased delivery times by 10 days or more on average, hurting companies with limited inventories.

On the other side of the world, a severe drought at the Panama Canal has forced authorities to impose restrictions that have substantially reduced daily ship crossings since last October, slowing down maritime trade through another key chokepoint that usually accounts for about 5 percent of global maritime trade.

WTO issues new edition of World Tariff Profiles

July 7, 2025-The WTO published on 7 July the 2025 edition of World Tariff Profiles, which provides comprehensive data on the tariffs and non-tariff measures imposed by over 170 economies. It is a joint publication of the WTO, the International Trade Centre (ITC) and UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
The publication provides summary tables listing the average "bound" (maximum) tariffs and applied tariffs for each economy for both agricultural and non-agricultural products as of end-2024.

Flow Traders-Tokenization in Capital Markets: A Market Maker's Perspective

July 3, 2025-Tokenization unlocks efficiencies like instant settlement, 24/7 trading, and fractional ownership-but real-world adoption depends on solving infrastructure and regulatory challenges, not just technology.
Market makers face key friction points in tokenized markets: fragmented liquidity requiring pre-funding across blockchains, lack of product-market fit without real demand, and operational complexity from 24/7 trading.