Memo

October 26, 2008 (LPAC)--Nouvelle Solidarité-- PARIS--The 90% plunge since May in the Baltic Dry Index--an index which indirectly reflects the global supply and demand for shipping bulk "dry goods" such as coal, iron ore and grain, shows a dramatic collapse in world physical-economic activity. Various press reports give a glimpse of reality, though they fail to draw the proper conclusions:

* Citing the drop, Bloomberg said on Oct. 24 that it signaled that "globalization is 'the biggest bubble of them all.'"

* The London Guardian said Oct. 14 that the "amber" warning lights for the world economy in the past couple of months are "now stuck firmly on red... the damage to the world economy is already a fact of life."

* In the U.S., 1,905 companies operating trucks for U.S. domestic road transport had closed this year through June, and freight imports through the ten largest U.S. ports were down 7% for the year through September.

Further, during the first seven months of this year, 50% of all Chinese toy producers went bankrupt, the growth in volume of container transport in Hong Kong is slowing, and the volume of goods handled by the seven ports on Taiwan shrank by 2.23%.