Watch shipping stocks: Maersk pauses Red Sea voyages after Houthi attacks

News Snapshot:

A.P. Moller-Maersk (OTCPK:AMKBY) has halted Red Sea shipping for 48 hours to size up the current security situation in a vital waterway responsible for a sixth of world trade. A U.S.-led naval task force, called Operation Prosperity Guardian, was formed with 20 other nations in December to protect commercial vessels from Yemen's Houthi rebels, but it doesn't look like it is currently deterring attacks from taking place in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Over the weekend, the Maersk Hangzhou issued two distress calls in less than 24 hours. In the first incident, the container ship was struck by a missile as...