Alexander Perjessy and Thaddeus Best of the Sovereign team discuss our forecasts for a protracted recovery of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economies this year, and the unique availability of these governments to tap into sovereign wealth fund assets to plug their fiscal deficits.

Marie Diron and Daniela Re Fraschini from the Sovereign team discuss our new environmental, social and governance (ESG) sovereign scores and how sustainability issues contribute to credit risks for emerging market countries.

Jaime Reusche and Gabriel Torres of the Sovereign team discuss our negative credit outlook on Latin American sovereigns. Although we expect the region to broadly return to GDP growth in 2021, economic revival will take time and pressure on governments to boost spending on social programs will build in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

Aurelien Mali and David Rogovic of the Sovereign team discuss the economic and credit implications for Sub-Saharan Africa of weaker global demand and constrained access to financing, as well as how a more diverse creditor base complicates debt negotiations and liquidity relief for countries in the region with lower credit quality.

Anushka Shah of the Sovereign team discusses how the coronavirus is exacerbating income inequality across emerging Asia, which will pose challenges to governments with weak social protection systems and low capacity to raise spending. Also, Matthew Kuchtyak of the ESG team looks at the growing importance of social issues for global investors, as reflected in the recent record issuance of sustainable bonds.

Michael Taylor and Lillian Li of the Credit Strategy & Research team discuss the rising credit strains on many emerging market countries that are part of the Belt & Road Initiative and the direction of the plan post-pandemic. Plus, analyst Nishad Majmudar talks about our analysis of ESG-related credit considerations in emerging market rating actions across sectors.

Analysts Sarah Carlson, Eugene Tarzimanov and Carolina Chimenti discuss the 2021 credit outlook for sovereigns, banks and companies across emerging market countries. The wide-ranging effects of the coronavirus will continue to be a dominant credit theme, along with still-weak tourism prospects, low oil prices and the rollback of forbearance and fiscal support in a number of countries.

Lucie Villa of the Sovereign team explains how the path to fiscal repair for many emerging market economies will likely be long and bumpy as revenue generation remains a struggle. Plus, William Foster, also of the Sovereign team, discusses whether India’s new fiscal stimulus push will be sufficient to jumpstart the country’s economy.

Ivy Poon of the Infrastructure Finance team discusses how fiscal support will help offset the rise in leverage for infrastructure issuers resulting from increased capital spending on transportation, renewable energy and other projects. Also, Celina Vansetti-Hutchins of the Banking team explains what the rapid drop in Brazilian interest rates this year means for credit conditions for the country’s banks.​

Constantinos Kypreos of the Banking team talks about the mounting credit strains on African banks, a reflection of the weakening financial strength of their home countries. Plus, Elisa Parisi-Capone of the Sovereign team examines the credit effects of Lebanon’s economic, financial and social crisis, as well as the potential for reforms.​

Gersan Zurita of the Credit Strategy & Research team discusses the steep decline in Mexican employment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and why the road to recovery will be long. Plus, Evan Wohlmann of the Sovereign team explains how heightened political instability in Belarus is negative for the country’s sovereign credit quality.​​​

Elena Duggar discusses the Credit Strategy & Research team’s analysis of the four main causes of sovereign bond defaults and how environmental, social and governance issues can be contributing factors. Plus, Atsi Sheth explains how increased manufacturing output and Chinese economic activity point to an incipient rebound in global trade.​​​

Christian de Guzman of the Sovereign team discusses how lower wages and the fall in employment of migrant workers in advanced economies will result in a decline in remittances to some developing economies. Also, Banking team analyst Nitish Bhojnagarwala talks about our outlook for the issuance of Islamic sukuk bonds.​

Corporates analyst Lahlou Meksaoui discusses the credit outlook for UAE property developers. Plus, Sean Hwang, also from the Corporates team, talks about prospects for a revival of Macao's gaming sector.​​​

Artem Frolov of the Corporates team provides insight about our cautiously optimistic view of Russian oil companies’ credit dynamics despite the adverse operating environment. Plus, Michael Higgins of the Sovereign team discusses the challenges and recovery prospects for non-investment grade emerging and frontier market sovereigns.​​

Sarah Carlson of the Sovereign team examines Turkey’s economic and credit prospects following the coronavirus shock. Plus, Merxe Tudela Carreres of the Model Development group discusses the findings of Moody’s new EM Financial Conditions Indicators series.​​​​

David Rogovic of the Sovereigns team discusses how the global travel slump is hurting emerging market countries, particularly small island-economies with a heavy dependence on tourism revenue. Plus, Barbara Mattos of the Corporates team shares insights as to how Brazilian mining giant Vale, a bellwether for the sector, is faring after coronavirus related disruption to its operations. ​​​​​​​

Michael Taylor of the Credit Strategy & Research team discusses the prospects for economic recovery and employment stability in China as the country tries to revitalize growth following the coronavirus. Also, Kelvin Dalrymple from the Sovereign team talks about the twin shocks for East Africa of the coronavirus and a locust infestation that threatens the region’s crops.​

Lucie Villa of the Sovereign team discusses a debt relief initiative for low-income countries grappling with liquidity pressures. Also, Daniela Jayesuria of the Structured Finance team offers insights on coronavirus-related debt moratoriums for individual and corporate borrowers in Latin America, one of the biggest securitization markets in emerging markets.​​​​​

Atsi Sheth of the Credit Strategy and Research team shares insights on how the coronavirus will likely push the global economy into recession this year, and why the downturn poses particular risks for emerging markets. Plus, Sean Marion of the Financial Institutions team discusses why credit risks are rising for South African banks.​​​​​

Ariane Ortiz-Bollin of the Sovereign team and Nymia Almeida of the Corporates team discuss the factors behind our recent rating downgrades of the Mexican sovereign and domestic energy giant PEMEX. Also, we get insights from Franco Leung of the Corporates team on the weaker operating environment for China’s property sector, one of the most active segments in emerging Asia debt markets.​​​​

India’s sweeping lockdown to combat the coronavirus outbreak is the largest restriction of movement the world has ever seen. In this episode, Moody’s analysts William Foster and Alka Anbarasu talk through the credit implications of containment efforts for the country’s government and banks. Analyst Gabriel Torres also joins to discuss Argentina’s economic outlook and prospects for another debt restructuring.​​​​​​

In this new podcast series, Moody’s experts from around the globe join host Rahul Ghosh to discuss key economic, financial and credit trends shaping emerging markets. Our first episode looks at what’s ahead for emerging market sovereigns as the coronavirus outbreak spreads and demand for oil drops. We also discuss our outlook for sustainable finance and ESG investing in emerging markets after a landmark year in 2019​​​​​.