Did You Know That…

…Microsoft outage hits users worldwide, affecting Teams, Outlook, and Copilot - as it happened. The outage began on 12 November 17:00-18:00 UTC, initially affecting most Microsoft 365 services. It continued into Friday 13 November, affecting businesses, airlines and government agencies worldwide. After 16 hours, the outage was mostly narrowed down to Microsoft Exchange, which powers Microsoft's email services including Outlook.[4] Within the Microsoft 365 admin center, the Exchange Online disruption is under EX1550543 and the broader Microsoft 365 incident is under MO1550821.

…Arctic transits nearly double in October as Russia eyes ‘maritime Trans-Siberian Railway’

• Russian- and Chinese-owned vessels dominate Arctic shipping
• Moscow says year-round shipping through the Northern Sea Route is only months away
• EU strategy ‘confrontational’, says Russia’s director of Northern Sea Route

Momentum is building for Arctic shipping: traffic is up significantly and Russia has big plans to turn the specialist route into a mainstream avenue for shipping .

…Maersk cyber-attack ‘connected to’ hacking group claims, company confirms

• No sensitive data disclosed
• Bookings and shipment management platforms remain open
• NotPetya worm cost Danish boxship giant $300m in 2017

Cyber-criminal gang says it will publish Hong Kong logistics data unless it receives $5m in bitcoin.

…Our friend Steven Yuan of FS China shared another market report on CIF rates from China to North Europe in November. The week-46 spot rate average has been revised to USD 3,050 per 40' HQ, while week-47 spot rates are expected to soften slightly week-on-week to around USD 2,950–3,000 per 40' GP. With FE3/FE4 sailings operating normally, the PA Alliance will need to align with prevailing market pricing, and spot rates on certain sailings are expected to decline relative to the blank-sailing environment seen earlier in the month. Maersk’s decision to hold its week-47 opening rates unchanged significantly limits the likelihood that a rate increase will materialize in late November; load factor remains the primary consideration. Although some carriers report positive signals from a surge in booking demand for automotive cargo, no broad-based improvement has yet emerged. Late November marks the third round of announced rate increases this quarter (late October → early November → late November); however, meaningful implementation has yet to be observed. Market sentiment is turning bearish. Going forward, the focus should be on verifying the extent to which announced increases materialize, rather than merely pricing in sentiment derived from the GRI announcements themselves. Key items to watch this week include: (i) how other carriers follow suit with their rate updates; (ii) the pass-through of crude oil prices and geopolitical developments; and (iii) the implementation timeline for China–Europe automotive trade policies and any resulting rush-shipment patterns. MSC published its Europe-lane rate announcement on its official website on 11 November. The announcement takes effect on 1 December and applies no later than 14 December.

…Singapore named World’s Leading Maritime City. Three Asian cities occupy the top five spots, up from two in 2024. The Asian hub has ranked first in every edition of DNV’s biennial report stretching back to 2015

…ADNOC widens its Asian footprint with decade-long LNG offtake deal. United Arab Emirates-headquartered energy heavyweight Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has sealed a multi-year LNG pact with India’s Gujarat Energy as the very first international portfolio sale for the UAE firm’s investment company XRG, expanding the energy giant’s growing presence across Asia's key gas markets.

…The Royal Schiphol Group (RSG) intends to increase its stake in Maastricht Aachen Airport (MAA) from 40% to 80%. In this context, RSG has made an offer to the Dutch province of Limburg. By acquiring a larger share, the Royal Schiphol Group aims to take greater responsibility for the further development of the airport. The province of Limburg will continue to hold a 20% stake in the airport. However, the proposed increase is still subject to further decision-making processes and final agreements.

…There has never been a scandal like the Jensen Huang affair. Jensen Huang affair scandal deepens after CEO resignation: Report reveals relationship with second Nvidia employee following Kimberly Powell allegations. Jensen Huang third affair: Jensen Huang's departure from Nvidia as its CEO has been followed by another revelation about his personal life. The former CEO reportedly had an intimate relationship with a second Nvidia employee, Reuters reported, adding to earlier accounts involving the company's healthcare executive Kimberly Powell and Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang. Mr Huang’s Chinese affair could go down as the most expensive shag in history. Nvidia is worth perhaps $500bn less than it was at the end of last week, which ranks this among the costliest corporate crises of all time. (The sum is greater still when you consider that the rest of the market is up.) The ultimate financial cost depends on two hard questions. How much was the influence wielded by Mr Huang in the White House worth? And can Colette Kress, the chief financial officer who Nvidia’s board said will run the company until a permanent successor is found, maintain the carefully balanced financial deals that Mr Huang assembled? Both matter not only for the chipmaker’s shareholders, but all of Silicon Valley. Mr Huang was the industry’s most vocal lobbyist and its keenest financial backer.

…Inflation in the euro zone rose to 4% in October, the highest level since 2023.

…Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil company, reported profits of $31,2bn in the third quarter, up 9% from a year earlier.

…Britain and European Union agreed to a draft deal to remove border checks on food and agricultural goods. The agreement is a boon to British farmers, whose exports to the EU have fallen by a third since Britain left the bloc.

…East-west container volumes defy slowdown expectations in strong third quarter.

• Transpacific volumes rose 10.7% year on year in the third quarter, with September up 17.4%
• Asia-Europe trade increased 9.1% in the third quarter before surging 21.1% year on year in September
• Global volumes remained 5% higher year to date despite Middle East disruption removing an estimated 2.7m teu from regional trades.

Stronger transpacific and Asia-Europe volumes point to resilient underlying demand, although returning Suez capacity could begin to loosen the market.

…People who switch off their camera more often during video conferences feel less exhausted in the evening.
 

Have a great weekend !