Meanwhile, in the real economy...

摘要

It is about as far as you can get from the woes of Wall Street and this week's dramatic rescues of American and European banks. The mucky business of digging ore out of the ground, shipping it across the oceans and turning it into steel, the feedstock of industry, is at the other end of the economic food chain from the trade in credit-default swaps, collateralised debt obligations and other esoteric financial instruments. So the recent fall in raw-material prices and the decline in shipping costs indicate just how far-reaching the consequences of the global financial crisis will be for the global economy.rnSince the early summer the prices of various kinds of steel have fallen by 20-70%, iron ore is down by a third and the key rate for bulk shipping of commodities such as iron ore, coal and grain is down by more than four-fifths. There is even talk of grain cargoes piling up in ports in the Americas. Their buyers' letters of credit have not been honoured, because of a lack of confidence in the banks that underwrite them.