S&P's CreditWeek - December 24, 2008
S&P's CreditWeek - December 24, 2008
|
 |
S&P's CreditWeek - December 17, 2008
S&P's CreditWeek - December 17, 2008
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - December 10, 2008
S&P's CreditWeek - December 10, 2008
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - November 26, 2008
S&P's CreditWeek - November 26, 2008
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - November 19, 2008
Microfinance Institutions: Changing Strategies For Changing Times: Microfinance institutions have made significant strides over the past few years in generating interest among commercially oriented investors. Yet troubles in the global economy will likely inhibit some of the sector's development and could substantially dampen optimistic forecasts.
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - November 5, 2008
How Public-Private Partnerships Could Pave The Way For Global Infrastructure Upgrades: Countries around the globe lack the funds to repair and construct transportation infrastructure, and are turning to privatization as a solution. The U.S. and countries in Asia and Latin America, following the lead of Europe, are now looking to investors to help rebuild and refurbish transportation grids that simply can't meet the needs of growing populations.
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - October 29, 2008
Global Insurers Weather The Credit Turmoil-Thus Far: While global insurance companies are not immune from September's turmoil in the U.S. financial markets, Standard & Poor's believes the repercussions will be less severe for them than for the headline victims, such as Wall Street investment houses, mortgage lenders, and government-sponsored enterprises.
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - October 22, 2008
Global Automakers Tighten Their Seatbelts: Consumers have increasingly turned away from the highly profitable SUVs and large pickups in favor of more fuel-efficient smaller cars. Furthermore, lingering worries about the return of higher gas prices, continuing job losses, and difficulty in obtaining financing have led many consumers in the U.S. and abroad to put auto purchases on hold.
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - October 15, 2008
Metals And Mining Companies Face Weakening Demand And Lower Prices: The metals and mining sector has enjoyed a remarkable run, with much of the demand coming from Asia, where two of the biggest economies-China and India-have been growing at a near double-digit pace. But metals prices have recently come off their historical highs amid financial market turmoil and expectations for a global recession.
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - September 17, 2008
After 10 Years Of Gains, Old Conflicts Return To Cast A Shadow On Russia's Future: The mid-to-late 1990s was a time of optimistic expectations, far-reaching plans, and high hopes for Russia. We saw the launch of new companies, new media such as TV channels and magazines, and public and private think-tanks developing strategies for the future. What's unique about today's political and economic atmosphere in the country is a lack of any clear vision of the future. ...
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - September 10, 2008
What Could Change Our 'AAA' Credit Rating On The U.S. Government? Recent events have focused attention on potential costs to the U.S. government of possible financial assistance to government-sponsored enterprises such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Some have expressed concern at the prospect of potential related outlays, and even asked if such costs could affect our assessment of U.S. creditworthiness. This article addresses questions about these and other U.S. con...
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - August 27, 2008
For Financial Institutions, More Rough Roads And Tough Choices Lie Ahead: As the credit downturn enters its second year, financial institutions are searching for evidence that the worst is over. Is this as bad as it gets for banks, or are more bad times ahead? In this roundtable discussion, a panel of Standard & Poor's credit experts discusses why current conditions demand intimate understanding of credit and liquidity risks and why these risks will require bank...
|
|
S&P's The Outlook - August 20, 2008
Smooth Sailing So Far For Latin America, But The Global Storm Is Lurking: So far, Latin America has come away from the global credit crunch largely unscathed. This is because of the region's improved political stability and macroeconomic flexibility as well as the growing demand for its booming commodity exports. The picture for 2009 is less clear, however, and depends on whether countries can maintain stability in the face of rising inflation and worsening external...
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - August 13, 2008
General Motors, Ford, Chrysler And Their Finance Units Are Downgraded On A Struggling U.S. Auto Market: The downgrades on U.S. automakers General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., and Chrysler LLC reflect Standard & Poor's expectations that the automakers will suffer heavy cash losses in 2008 and 2009. The key to their ratings in the next year will be how each company's liquidity holds up under the very difficult industry conditions in North America.
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - August 6, 2008
As Credit Card Use Increases, Issuers Take Actions To Manage Risk: Credit card debt in the U.S. is growing faster today than in recent years. It's no surprise that these increases have sparked concern about the potential impact on credit card asset-backed securities (ABS), especially in light of limited alternative funding sources, the weakening job market, a low savings rate, and high energy prices. This article discusses how credit card ABS issuers have responded ...
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek: July 30, 2008: The 2008 Midyear Outlook
2008 Midyear Outlook: How Tight Credit And Economic Turbulence Are Shaping The Direction Of The Markets After a fairly tumultuous first half, what might be in store for the rest of 2008? In a nutshell: The credit quality of corporate and government borrowers is likely to keep declining as a probable recession in the U.S. and economic slumps around the globe continue to put a damper on the credit markets. Housing prices remain a major concern.
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - July 23, 2008
As Demand Continues To Increase, How Will The World Cope With Sustained High Oil Prices? Standard & Poor's continues to believe that oil prices will come down in the short run but that they are cycling around a rising trend. Demand for oil continues to rise because of economic growth in Asia. The oil output is rising only slowly, in part because so much of the world's oil supplies are now in the hands of national oil companies, which have less incentive to raise...
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - July 16, 2008
The U.S. Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Market May Be Down, But It's Not Out U.S. asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) outstandings nearly doubled to $1.2 trillion between 2004 and 2007 before abruptly reversing course last September, leading some market observers to conclude that this market had strayed too far from its original purpose. Despite the recent downturn, Standard & Poor's believes that ABCP remains a bedrock business that serves an important and viab...
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - July 9, 2008
The Olympics: The Glitziest Of Public-Private Partnerships Once a showcase of amateur athleticism, the Olympics are now open to the top professional athletes and big-name corporate sponsors. The Games offer the chosen host city (and nation) the chance to broaden its tourism base, while corporate sponsors see an opportunity to reinforce or introduce brand names in broader markets. In essence, it's a public-private partnership in pin-striped suits and track shoes, wit...
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - July 2, 2008
As Defaults Increase, The Debt Market Spotlight Shifts To Recovery: With defaults creeping higher and a rising focus on recovery prospects, Standard & Poor's believes it is especially important to look at instrument-specific analysis rather than average recoveries based merely on historical data. Against this background, recovery ratings for both secured and unsecured debt show the importance of estimating individual recoveries and recognizing that past patterns...
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - June 25, 2008
U.S. Commercial Construction: After The Wave Comes The Trough: U.S. commercial construction surged 12.9% in 2007, responding to high occupancy rates and easy financing. However, new activity dropped sharply in the fourth quarter as financing became more difficult and employment growth slowed. Standard & Poor's expects new commercial starts to weaken further in 2008, but the carry-through from buildings that reached groundbreaking in 2007 should keep construction...
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - June 18, 2008
Can The Russian Bear Continue To Roar? Over the last half decade, Russian GDP has tripled, making it the 10th largest economy in the world. The principal stimulant of growth has been the rapid five-year rise in commodity prices, in particular those for gas and oil. While Russian prosperity has returned, it is only partially attributable to improvements in total factor productivity. Accumulating evidence of overheating and the very patchy record on oversight raise co...
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - June 11, 2008
The Great Rebalancing: What's Behind The Dramatic Shift In Global Wealth To Asia: The globalization of financial markets is both a facilitator and a symptom of this so-called great rebalancing. Asia is becoming wealthier. The rise in GDP and financial assets in Asia and the commodity-producing states is creating a major shift in the balance of world wealth and income. This shift is good for the world economy, but the potential conflicts it creates over financial and...
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - June 4, 2008
U.S. Insurers Look To Increased Underwriting Discipline And ERM To Navigate Tougher Markets: Current credit market conditions have challenged the financial services industry. We expect that the insurance sector is well positioned to navigate through the mark-to-market volatility in its investment portfolios given the generally manageable levels of exposure to the more volatile asset classes, healthy liquidity, and strong capitalization levels. This remains a key fo...
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - May 28, 2008
Older But Not Wiser: Why Americans Remain Dangerously Unprepared For Retirement The combination of rapidly approaching retirement and the weak financial markets is adding to Americans' fears about postretirement financial security. However, it doesn't seem to be adding enough to induce more saving, as the household saving rate remains near 0%. Although the lack of saving has helped keep economic growth positive, it will make it more difficult for older Americans to ...
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - May 21, 2008
Enterprise Risk Management: More Important, But Still No Panacea: Standard & Poor's believes that employing sound enterprise risk management (ERM) practices will improve companies' financial profiles. ERM, both as a philosophy and a discipline, is becoming a necessity, not an option. However, ERM is ultimately not a panacea but rather a methodology that lends itself to the management of the likelihood of risks emerging.
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - May 14, 2008
Will Central Asia's Commodity Boom Help Pave The Way For A New Silk Road? Far away from the large population centers, Central Asia had suffered from poverty and isolation. Now, the boom in commodities has led to the region's robust growth, but consequences from its own irrational exuberance may threaten stability and prosperity in the near term.
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - May 7, 2008
Can Sub-Saharan Africa Keep Up The Pace As Global Growth Slows Down?:
After several years of outstanding performance, the future of sub-Saharan Africa's economic boom is under pressure from a slowing world economy and the ongoing dislocation in global credit markets. Nevertheless, we believe the region should prove relatively immune to the effects of the global economic slowdown.
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - April 30, 2008
Growing Emerging Markets Reduce The Global Impact Of The U.S. Recession: The U.S. is no longer the dominant economic power. The growth of China and India and the unification of the European economies have created true economic rivals. The addition of these large locomotives to the world economic train makes the global economy less vulnerable to a U.S. recession.
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - April 23, 2008
High Commodity Prices: The Raw Material For Economic Turmoil: Standard & Poor's expects the U.S. economy to grow only 1.2% this year, but as higher commodity prices ripple through the economy, we could see the unholy alliance of low growth and higher inflation. That is not good either for commodity-dependent producers or for consumers, who, if they stop spending, will further depress the economy.
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - April 16, 2008
2008 Auto Outlook: As U.S. Sales Shift Into Reverse, Europe Is Just Stalled U.S. auto sales have dropped sharply in recent months and Standard & Poor's expects sales to keep sliding. The longer term outlook for the industry remains a contentious topic. However, the European outlook is slightly brighter. More expensive fuel will hurt the European auto industry, but not as much as the U.S. market.
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - April 9, 2008
The Mixed Impact Of Falling Rates On U.S. Alt-A And Subprime Borrowers: One of the effects of falling rates is that borrowers may refinance into lower interest rate loans before hitting a payment shock. However, tightening of underwriting guidelines and declines in property values may prevent many borrowers from qualifying for new loans, especially subprime borrowers. Even if they qualify, the loan may be priced much higher in the current market than it would have b...
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - April 2, 2008
The New Realities Of State And Local Government Finance: A slower economy affects state and local governments in three big ways; by sharply lowering the sales tax revenue available to governments, by rapidly depleting the "rainy day" reserves they've set up, and by causing underperformance of locally-derived revenues dependent on economic activity. With the current economic slowdown and housing slump, the result may be more belt-tightening for some state and local ...
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - March 19, 2008
The Credit Cost Of Going Green For U.S. Electric Utilities: Standard & Poor's believes climate change-related costs will have a minimal overall effect on electric utility ratings if policymakers attempt to accomplish greenhouse gas reductions as efficiently as possible over a time span that allows rates to absorb those costs on a politically palatable schedule. Therefore, credit quality will suffer if legislatures impose CO2 limits in such a way as to disrupt re...
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek: March 12, 2008
Why The Global Economy Should Be Able To Endure The U.S. Slowdown: World growth is expected to decelerate in response to the slowdown in the U.S. and higher energy prices. Overall, 2008 promises to have plenty of tough challenges for the world's economies. Even though the U.S. doesn't dominate the world economy as it once did, the U.S. slowdown will still send ripple effects throughout the world.
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - March 5, 2008
How The Slowdown May Affect The Largest U.S. Cities: Of the most immediate concern to the largest rated U.S. cities-no matter their age, location, or size-is that they are all confronting the developing economic slowdown and everything that it implies about jobs and tax revenues. All are feeling the effects of the housing slump and all have to consider and deal with taxpayer resistance to increased levies. How tough are current conditions?
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek: February 27. 2008
What The Top 10 Trends For U.S. Commodities And Basic Industries Mean For All Corporates: For better or worse, these are interesting times for the industry sectors that comprise commodities and basic industries. Credit prospects for 2008 are decidedly mixed. A couple of things, however, are for sure: these sectors are likely to feel some effects of the credit squeeze and economic downturn and the emerging trends for commodities and basic industries will also play ou...
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - February 20, 2008
Water, Water Everywhere...But Not Enough Of It: Water may be the source of the next major natural resource crisis. A rising world population; increased demand for water for agriculture, industry, and energy production; and a growing desire for safer, as well as more plentiful, water supplies are pressuring existing resources. At the same time, climate change may be cutting the availability of fresh water. Most citizens of Europe and North America have taken access t...
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - February 13, 2008
S&P's Announces New Actions To Strengthen The Ratings Process: Standard & Poor's Ratings Services is taking new steps in order to further strengthen its ratings operations and to better serve capital markets around the world. The goal is to bring to the table more innovative thinking, greater resources, and improved analytics, which will enhance the ratings process, build greater confidence in the ratings system, and support the efficiency of the global cred...
|
|
S&P's CreditWeek - February 6, 2008
South African Markets Ready Themselves For A Roller Coaster Ride In 2008: Preparations for hosting the 2010 World Cup are exercising minds across South Africa at present, but so are the more immediate political and economic concerns weighing on financial markets. Externally, risks to global growth are on the rise and emerging market investor sentiment remains vulnerable to the turmoil in global equity markets and widening credit spreads. However, ratings look set fo...
|
|
| |
| Credit Week Issues |
 Previous 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 Next  |
| |
