Moody’s Investors Service cut Brazil’s credit rating to near-junk status on Tuesday but said the country’s coveted investment grade status is safe for now, proving some relief to investors and the government of President Dilma Rousseff.
Standard & Poor's on Tuesday said Brazil could lose its coveted investment-grade rating in the coming year if fallout from a number of corruption investigations further stymies economic growth and the implementation of austerity measures.
Brazil's debt levels will continue to increase through 2016 and remain high despite the government's fiscal consolidation efforts, potentially weakening the sovereign's credit profile, says Moody's Investors Service.
Peru's sustained macroeconomic performance has been recognized through the recently announced upgrade to A3 of its sovereign debt by Moody’s Investors Service. According to the credit rating agency, Peru' government debt was lifted two notches to A3 from Baa2, with a stable outlook for the economy.
Standard & Poor's (S&P) decided on Tuesday to maintain Uruguay's sovereign debt risk rating unchanged at the lowest investment grade BBB-, because although it has solid growth prospects, predictable policies and a favorable debt profile, the country still has limited fiscal and monetary flexibility and lives in a neighborhood experimenting 'economic stress'.
Moody's Investors Service last Friday announced it had upgraded Uruguay's government bond rating to Baa2 from Baa3, and assigned a stable outlook to the Baa2 rating. The upgrade was driven by the strengthening of Uruguay's sovereign credit profile, as reflected by the convergence of fiscal and debt metric, an overall government debt profile that is currently associated with moderate credit risks, and the country's reduced vulnerabilities to regional and commodity shocks.
Uruguay and Peru are the first Latin American countries in line for a possible credit rating hike by Moody's Investors Service, at a moment when sovereign upgrades are expected to become more scarce in the region, a senior analyst with the ratings firm said.
International credit rating agency Moody's has reduced the rating of Argentina's sovereign debt, moving the grade down one step from B3 to Caa1 due to the fall in the nation's international reserves and its inconsistent economic policy.
Moody's Ratings agency announced it has downgraded the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) from Aaa to Aa1, with negative outlook on each.