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Austerity measures by debt-laden governments have spawned intense protests such as the dramatic scene above in Athens, Greece in June.

Credit risks related to sovereign debt is at an all-time high as some of the world's most developed nations and their financial institutions struggle to remain solvent in an era of deleveraging.  "Famine following feast."

The political, economic and financial risk of doing business around the world soared in 2011 as more and more nations, banks and companies grappled with increasingly uncontrollable amounts of debt.  But in sharp contrast to years past when countries like Argentina and Zimbabwe posed the