Ah, yes, I remember this article well. You'd think otherwise, considering the material—financial journalism is so dry that I'd rather be writing just about anything else, but it brings in bits. I had actually written a far more personal piece that very week, urging action from the various ponies in power, hoping to garner more support for the Table. That particular article was never printed outside of my own publication.
It's typical, isn't it? Write about a crisis that's claimed thousands of lives and you could travel all Equestria without a paper picking it up. Write about how some corporation or other reacts, how the assets are affected, and suddenly your words are spread across every island.
Things will be different by the time I'm done.
By Whitehorn
Originally published in the Harvest Financial Times, May 20, 672 Anno Caeli
With the recent destruction of Coltver to forces unknown, resulting in the near-total loss of ponies and property in the area, the Harvest Central Bank (HCB) has announced a total pullout of all assets from the Celestial Sea region with a complete firesale of all owned assets including the mining colonies, farms, and transport ships in the region. Serene Grace, Regional Manager for the Eastern Quadrant, told the Financial Times, “In light of the unfortunate incident, we must take steps to protect our employees. Therefore we have decided to cease operation in this part of Equestria.”
In light of this, the Bank of Heighton and the United Baltimare Corporations (UBC) have announced a large expansion into the region, with an estimated investment of more than 2.5 million Gold-Equivalent Units (GEUs), equivalent to the gross economic product of Straterra over a year. With Baltimare and Heighton investing into the region just as Harvest is pulling out, the news from the Harvest Exchange isn’t exactly optimistic. Eastern Shipping Company closed down three percent and Harvest Farms closed down ten points resulting from the loss of one of their core regions.
The HCB was also punished by the markets post-Coltver destruction. The shares floated on the public exchange, in total 2,000, closed down five percent, a heavy blow to Harvest’s economy, as HCB has been buying parts of Central Line and Oceanus Shipping, both critical companies for the flow of goods and food to Harvest.
In contrast to this, the Bank of Heighton and the UBC have seen their shares go up on the exchange, closing up three and two points, respectively. Gifted analyst Gold Coin theorizes that this is “due to their western and southern holdings, as they are not as dependent on the eastern islands.” Indeed, the Frieslander Line, responsible for the transport of the bulk of Altalusia’s raw materials, moved yesterday to buy up Tacitus Shipping, a Baltimare-based company with a long history and modern ships.
The destruction of the largest island so far in recorded history has also been a boon for the airship industries based in Sanctaphrax. Sanctaphrax Aerospace, along with Blue Horizon and the Skyway Group, have seen their shares skyrocket as several prominent companies, frightened in the wake of Coltver’s sinking, decided to place orders for airships for both VIPs and for more mundane purposes according to information obtained by the Financial Times.
In addition, the Bank of Heighton has been rumored to be making a large investment of more than 20,000 GEUs towards the Sanctaphrax-based Reverie Shipyards in order to refit a number of ships to be able to submerge to a depth of 2,000 meters with the hope of salvaging sunken ships and their cargo. The UBC has also been rumored to be planning a move on Reverie Shipyards according to a highly placed source that spoke to the Financial Times under condition of anonymity.
While the submersible industry has seen a considerable boon following the destruction of Coltver, other industries have seen a considerable downturn as a result of the catastrophe. With the loss of one of the largest producers of iron ore in the archipelago, the price for iron ore has skyrocketed. Baltimare Yards, for whom Coltver was one of their largest sources of iron ore, has downsized expectations for the rest of the year from 30,000 tonnes to 10,000 tonnes, laying off an estimated 100 workers. Heighton Ironworks, drawing their ore and steel from either domestic or nearby sources, have announced higher prices for their steel as well. It remains to be seen if the shipyards will follow suit in the coming days.
The shipping and insurance industry, while still expanding, has become wary of a future island collapse. Consolidated Insurance, based out of Harvest, has raised rates considerably for all ships traversing the Celestial Sea region, both under the Survivor Clause and by invoking the Force Majeure Clause on several of the ships lost with Coltver. The HCB, in addition to the steps already mentioned earlier in the article, has followed suit in its Insurance division, raising rates for all ships in the Eastern Quadrant, as well as invoking Force Majeure on the ships insured by them that were lost.
The loss of so many vessels and companies in one fell swoop with Coltver, while not a large island, has also caused a smaller crisis in the Three Banks. The Bank of Heighton, the UBC and the HCB have announced the general interest on all new loans taken out after May 31st with interest rates going as high as 12%. This comes with the loss of several creditors, including the complete loss of the Coltver Mines, which, according to documents provided to the Financial Times by an anonymous source, had taken large loans from several banks to finance new mineshafts.
While the HCB can undoubtedly weather this storm, as it has with so many others, this may have long-reaching consequences for Equestria in the months and years to come.