The image of phoenix, the mythical bird that burns to ashes and then re-emerges again and again, has already been cited frequently and is therefore undoubtedly far from original. It does, however, perfectly describe recent developments in the global air transport sector. After all, the industry has recovered from its severe crisis with impressive speed, is posting high growth rates once again and has in the meantime even broken previous traffic volume records. Nevertheless, not all is rosy in the garden as the aviation sector continues to face serious problems despite the economic upturn... [more]

The two key raw material inputs for steel production are iron ore and coking coal. In the coking coal market, the establishment of quality standards and the development of an online trading platform have already led to the emergence of reliable indices that are the basis for brisk business in forward transactions. The iron ore market is currently witnessing similar developments. The aim is greater flexibility in iron ore trading. ... [more]