Risk.net: Sustainable Companies are Better Credit Risks
The link between sustainable business practices and financial performance is hotly debated. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence of companies with poor environmental, social and governance (ESG) records – Volkswagen and PG&E, for example – coming a cropper. But establishing a clear statistical correlation between ESG scores and stock returns has proven difficult. In bond […]
September Credit Update: Consensus Downgrades Outweigh Upgrades
Download PDF Credit Benchmark has published the latest monthly credit consensus data (from August 2019) based on contributions from 40+ financial institutions, covering 50,000 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 showed improvements across 324 […]
US Auto Sales Stalling After Labor Day Acceleration
According to the JD Power LMC Automotive Forecast for September, US auto sales are expected to decline 13.3% year on year following record sales results in August, when retail sales rose 6.2%. In addition to the fact that Labor Day sales were counted in August’s report instead of September’s, the decline is likely due to […]
The Millennial Generation: Room for Growth or a Dud Investment?
The millennial consumer is still something of an enigma to the corporate world, but clichés regarding the demographic are well known. Considered flighty and non-committal, home ownership rates for millennials are dropping, the average age of marriage is rising, and the generation is travelling more than their elders did. One thing that businesses are sure […]
September Credit Consensus Indicators (CCIs) – UK, EU and US Industrials
Credit Benchmark have released the September Credit Consensus Indicators (CCIs). The CCI is an index of forward-looking credit opinions for US, UK and EU Industrials based on the consensus views of over 30,000 credit analysts at 40 of the world’s leading financial institutions. Drawn from more than 800,000 contributed credit observations, the CCI tracks the […]
Risk.net: Italian Banks Find Themselves at a Crossroads
The recent turmoil in Italian politics comes at a precarious time for the country’s banking sector. An audacious effort by Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right League, to bring down the government and force snap elections in the autumn – when annual budget negotiations were due to begin – appears to have failed. Salvini, who […]
August Credit Update: Consensus Financial Upgrades Outweigh Downgrades
Download PDF Credit Benchmark has published the latest monthly credit consensus data (from July 2019) based on contributions from 40+ financial institutions, covering 50,000 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 showed improvements across 324 […]
Consensus Sovereign Credit Data and Tradeable Anomalies in Government Bond Prices
Credit Benchmark’s latest whitepaper explores how consensus credit risk data can potentially be used in identifying tradeable short-to medium-term anomalies in Government bond prices.
Does US Small-Cap Weakness Send an Ominous Signal?
Download PDF Precarious politics are causing flux in global stock markets, with trade wars, Brexit, political shocks in Argentina and protests in Hong Kong all causing investor jitters. Market indicators around the world have been flashing red as US, European and Asian stocks all dropped last week. Investor risk appetite seems to be waning, […]
Credit Quality Sours as UK Restaurants & Bars Feel the Brexit Squeeze
Download PDF Sterling has continued its downward summer slide, dropping from USD1.32 to USD1.21 since May. Analysts warned of future weakness in the event that Boris Johnson became Prime Minister, taking the view that his leadership will increase the chances of an economically risky no-deal Brexit. Market onlookers will be watching keenly now that Johnson’s […]
