Cyprus Immigration focuses on Cyprus Economic Development: According to The Wall Street Journal, the credit rating agency Standard & Poor's published a report on Friday, upgrading Cyprus's sovereign credit rating by one notch and revising Finland's sovereign credit rating outlook to 'negative'(Negative).
Standard & Poor's warned earlier this year that the number of countries whose sovereign credit ratings were downgraded would likely exceed those whose ratings were upgraded. However, the agency also noted that since 2012, the overall number of sovereign ratings with a 'negative' outlook has decreased, and it stated that it expects any country with the highest 'AAA' rating to remain unchanged.
In the report released on Friday, Standard & Poor's noted that Cyprus's economic and budget performance exceeded the agency's previous expectations. Currently, Standard & Poor's has set Cyprus's sovereign credit rating at 'BB-', which is three levels below investment grade.
Cyprus received international assistance about two years ago due to the excessive size of its banking system, which resulted in losses for bank depositors during the economic downturn. Since then, the island nation's economy has been steadily recovering, with its current account deficit largely filled and capital controls completely lifted as of early April.
Meanwhile, Standard & Poor's revised Finland's sovereign credit rating outlook from 'stable' (Stable) to 'negative', stating that it expects the country's economic growth rate to be below average. The report highlights the challenges faced by the Finnish economy due to issues such as a lack of competitiveness, decline of traditional industries like paper manufacturing, and rapid aging population. Standard & Poor's confirmed Finland's 'AA-' sovereign credit rating.
Additionally, Standard & Poor's downgraded Ukraine's sovereign credit rating from 'CCC' to 'selective default' (selective default). The primary reason for this rating change was the Ukrainian government's invitation to creditors to participate in their bond buyback auction earlier this week, which Standard & Poor's viewed as a distressed debt restructuring.
Standard & Poor's also confirmed the sovereign credit ratings of several countries, including Austria, Lithuania, Zambia, Denmark, and Luxembourg.