Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Bulk dry-goods shipper Diana Shipping (DSX 0.51%) stock climbed almost 9% on Feb. 3. That put the stock back up for the year, after falling almost 50% in 2014:
So what: The only news out there about Diana Shipping today is that the company signed extended agreements on two of its vessels with Clearlake Shipping Pte. Ltd., Singapore, for a combined daily rate of $18,500. One vessel is under contract for at least 10 months, and 13-17 months for the other.
Now what: This is positive news and marks the fifth such announcement this year, including the contract for a newbuild vessel that was just delivered. These contracts are some evidence of the economic uncertainty that had been weighing on the company's results.
The company announces full earnings on March 4, so we'll find out more then whether management thinks the trend will continue through 2015.
