One of the most difficult aspects of doing business internationally is the lack of reliable credit risk information for many countries. In this section, CP will provide insight into the financial, economic and political risks of various countries around the world.
Grecian Risk: Greek Companies Struggle with High Debt
May 20, 2010
With the nation of Greece in financial turmoil, CreditPulse takes a look at some Greek companies that aren't faring much better than the country itself when it comes to debt and credit risk.
In early 2008, both Greece and one of its largest companies, Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA - a company majority owned by the Greek state - needed cash and they needed it fast. Fortunately for both, the largest telecom in Europe, Deutche Telekom AG, the $74.3 billion German telecom giant, was interested in expanding into the Greek market.
A closer look at the Mediterranean nation of Greece - a country that garnered little attention before its financial crisis - reveals how a combination of spending, debt and lack of growth have brought the world's oldest democracy to the brink of insolvency.
On January 12th, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the tiny Caribbean nation of Haiti causing widespread destruction and an estimated 100,000 deaths. CreditPulse reports on the few U.S. companies that do business in Haiti and some of the reasons why more don't.
