Insights
Credit Spotlight on Tariffs: The Wider Impact
Tariffs are reshaping trade and credit risk. Credit Benchmark data highlights early signs of strain and resilience.
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UN World Happiness Report: Does High Sovereign Credit Quality = Happy People?
The UN recently released their 7th World Happiness Report, which ranks 156 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be. The results of the report are not altogether unsurprising – nations with strong social welfare systems and high GDP per capita tend to sit at the top (the
Credit Benchmark Data Validates the Improving Health of US Oil and Gas
While oil demand is expected to grow moderately in 2019, it is still below the strong growth expected in the non-OPEC supply forecasted for this year. This highlights the continued responsibility of participating oil-producing countries to avoid a relapse of the imbalance, and to continue to support oil market stability
Risk.Net: UK Banks Hold Firm as Brexit Looms
The UK’s bumpy Brexit joyride has left London’s financial firms on edge. UK banks have set aside more than half a billion pounds to cover Brexit-related credit losses. Liquidity buffers have been reinforced, to the tune of £53 billion, at the insistence of the Bank of England. Assets are being shifted to the European
Will Chinese Investment in Italy be a Game Changer?
Recently Italy and China signed a “memorandum of understanding” announcing their intentions to work together on China’s massive investment and infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This would make Italy the first G7 country to agree to a cooperation package under the BRI program covering transport, infrastructure and
March Credit Update: Consensus Upgrades Outweigh Downgrades
Credit Benchmark has published the latest monthly credit consensus data (from February 2019) based on contributions from 30+ financial institutions, covering over 27,200 separate legal entities. The monthly upgrades and downgrades overview is now based on data adjusted for changes in contributor mix. Monthly consensus upgrades and downgrades: Last month
Q1 U.S. Auto Sales Stalling
According to the March J.D. Power and LMC Automotive Forecast, U.S. auto sales are off to the slowest Q1 start since 2013. The forecast cites weather, mixed economic data and lower tax refunds as factors causing the falling sales. Further, auto companies face mounting pressure from the Trump administration to
