International Credit

Global domestic credit as a percent of GDP declined slightly in 2011, according to data from the World Bank.  Some countries have room for expansion while others are nearing the end of the line.

In recent years, the industrialized world's appetite for credit has created mountains of debt primarily in the form of bank loans and bond purchases.  Many of these countries are over-banked -- relying too much on banking and credit to achieve economic growth.

Increased signs of political unrest in South Africa, the contintent's most developed nation, prompted Moody's to lower its credit outlook on the country from stable to negative.  "Political uncertainty is overplayed."

"For the first time ever in the 16 years of freedom and democracy, we see black and white South Africans celebrating together in the stadiums and fan parks," said South African President Jacob Zuma during last year's World Cup hosted by South Africa.  Get the details of why Moody's lowered South Africa's credit outlook in addition to other risk information.

Credit ratings firms fail to see sovereign defaults coming soon enough and have typically been too late in issuing key downgrades of government or sovereign debt.  "Once a crisis is obvious, it's obvious to everybody."

The three major credit ratings firms -- Standard & Poors, Moody's and Fitch Ratings -- have a poor track record in predicting sovereign defaults soon enough to save creditors and investors, according to analysis of 35 years of data conducted by the Wall Street Journal.  Read below to learn more about sovereign defaults and the countries that have defaulted since 2001.

Currency devaluations and brazen government seizures of foreign assets have turned Venezuela, the second largest economy in South America, into one of the riskiest and costliest places in the world to do business.

In 2009, Tidewater, Inc., a $1.1 billion maritime oil drilling support and services company based in New Orleans, Lousiana, had 15 vessels operating on Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela to support that nation's oil industry.  Read more to find out which companies have been expropriated and which ones are still there in this CreditPulse exclusive.