Standard & Poor's raised Argentina's credit rating one notch Tuesday, from B- to B, saying Latin America's third-largest economy was on the verge of exiting recession.The rating bump gives a boost to conservative President Mauricio Macri, who has launched sweeping - often unpopular - economic reforms aimed at reviving growth.
Argentina’s credit rating was raised to B- from selective default by S&P Global Ratings, which cited the country’s payment last Thursday of $2.7 billion of past-due interest on bonds in default since July 2014.
Standard & Poor's ratings agency says that Argentina’s new administration has presented a credible plan to deal with long-standing macroeconomic imbalances, eliminated foreign-exchange restrictions, and begun negotiations with its holdout creditors. The outlook on the local currency rating is stable, reflecting the new economic policies of the Administration, but also the potential difficulties in passing and implementing those plans.
Finance Minister Joaquim Levy has not resigned and will stay in his post, Brazil's government said on Friday, denying a media report that he planned to step down in a dispute over austerity measures. A finance ministry spokeswoman told reporters that Levy continues to work and is committed to improve the country's future.
Fitch Ratings cut Brazil's credit rating to the brink of junk, warning the country could soon lose its coveted investment grade rating as government finances deteriorate amid a prolonged recession and persistent political uncertainty.
A day after Standard & Poor’s slashed Brazil’s credit rating to junk, the Brazilian Real lost close to 2% by the end of the day to 3.865 per dollar—its weakest level since 2002. In an effort to stem the decline, Brazil’s central bank injected $1.5 billion into the financial system Thursday.
Standard & Poor's has stripped Brazil of its investment-grade credit rating, further hampering President Dilma Rousseff's efforts to regain market trust and pull Latin America's largest economy out of recession.
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.
Concerns that Brazil may lose its coveted investment grade credit rating are again on the rise among government officials and investors who worry that President Dilma Rousseff’s austerity push won’t fully offset plunging government revenues.
US markets rose sharply after minutes from the September meeting of the Federal Reserve were released. The transcript indicated that US central bankers were wary of raising rates too soon. Officials were worried markets were too focused on a rate rise happening during a specific period of time.