Yuan May Joint Elite Group, Militant ILWU Faction, Hapag-Lloyd Loss

Analysts See Chinese Yuan Joining Elite Currency Group – Analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch believe that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will vote to include China’s yuan (CNY) as one of the currencies in their Special Drawing Right (SDR) group.  Presently, the four currencies in the group are the U.S. dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen, and the British pound.  If the Chinese yuan joins the SDR, it would be a massive step forward China’s financial markets and would further drive the yuan’s use as a reserve currency.

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Militant ILWU Group Seeks to Reject Deal – A militant wing of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is trying to convince rank and file members to reject the proposed deal with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).  While a tentative contract agreement was reached in late February, the contract still needs to be ratified by union members.  The ILWU’s coast-wide caucus will start next week and a vote is expected later in April.

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Hapag-Lloyd Sees Largest Loss in 5 Years – German container-line Hapag-Lloyd reported a $654 million net loss in 2014.  The loss was largely due to costs associated with its acquisition of CSAV to become the 4^th largest steamship line.  Despite the loss, the company is looking to the future “with optimism”.

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