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News and Information

In this section, CreditPulse will cover newsworthy topics relevant to the credit risk function in a unique manner that increases perspective and includes specific information not found anywhere else.  The information is always accurate and unbiased.

Recent Articles

Peru Election Signals Greater Risk for Latin America

June 22, 2021

Victory by far-left socialist candidate in Peru's presidential election drives currency to all-time low against the dollar; signals greater risk for LATAM.

Socialst labor leader Pedro Castillo has apparently won the Peru presidential election by the narrowist of margins, just 50.2%, over the more business-friendly Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of former autocratic President Alberto Fujimori, in an election held just over a week ago.

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U.S. Crude Rises Above $60 per Barrel

March 1, 2021

U.S. crude oil broke the symbolic $60 per barrel threshold on Friday continuing the post-pandemic recovery of the world's most important commodity.

U.S. crude prices surged to $61.50 per barrel on Friday, its highest level since before the pandemic, as a combination of cold weather and expectations for a strong economic recovery have investors bidding up the price of oil.

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Noteworthy 2020

January 8, 2021

CreditPulse recaps the extraordinary year of 2020 with our year-end montage of insightful comments from noteworthy people around the world. "There are no ethical boundaries to Beijing's pursuit of power."

"I'm hear to clear my name and to pronounce clearly and emphatically something that was interpreted as heresy in the Japanese judicial system: These allegations are untrue and I should have never been arrested," proclaimed auto executive Carlos Ghosn (pictured second from the left, middle row).

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Asset Impairments Signal Trouble For Oil Industry

February 20, 2020

Asset impairments are on the rise in the oil & gas services industry as the oil market overall experienced another downturn in 2019.  "New decade lows."

Many oil & gas equipment and service companies are back in the red after a wave of goodwill and asset impairments hit the industry in 2019, according to the latest annual financial results just being released -- a development that could drastically change the industry credit risk component.

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Pakistan's Currency Drops as Country Seeks IMF Bailout

June 22, 2019

The need for IMF assistance is the latest setback for a country that has long struggled to find its footing among Asia's emerging-market economies.

Pakistan, a country of 212 million people with the 39th largest economy in the world, could be on its way to becoming the next Argentina as it waits for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to approve yet another bailout this one a $6 billion loan to be paid out over the next three years.

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Accounting Change Throws Boeing's Balance Sheet For Loop

March 31, 2019

Dramatic rise in current liabilities places strain on the aerospace giants balance sheet although company still remains strong financially.

After three consecutive years of revenue declines, Boeing soared past the $100 billion threshold in annual sales in 2018, but the company's balance sheet is growing weaker, not stronger, according to an analysis of the company's 2018 financial statements by CreditPulse.

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GE Cash Plunge Poses Risks for Creditors, Investors

October 31, 2018

Significant drops in operating cash flow and market capitalization raise major red flags for the creditworthiness of General Electric.

In October 2010, Clarient, Inc., a California-based oncology diagnostics company, was losing money, booking revenue that was uncollectible and its auditor, KPMG, had issued a warning about the company's ability to continue as a going concern.

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Barrick Gold to Buy Rangold Resources in a $6 Billion Deal

September 26, 2018

One of the world's largest gold mining companies announces a plan to buy one of the most valuable gold mining companies in deal priced at $6 billion.

Barrick Gold Corp., an $8.4 billion gold and copper mining company based in Toronto, Canada, has reached an agreement to buy Rangold Resources Ltd., a British-based gold mining company, in an all-stock deal that would create the largest gold mining company in the world.

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The United States and Nigeria Renew Strategic Bonds

May 2, 2018

Nigerian President Buhari and President Trump vow greater cooperation on trade, terrorism, humanitarian aid and corruption.  

The United States and Nigeria renewed their strategic and economic interests on Monday as Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari became the first sub-Saharan African leader to visit the White House since President Trump took office in January 2017.

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Fed Stays on Track with Rate Increase

March 22, 2018

Fed to stay on course with rate increases even as economic and inflation projections remain modest.  "Our inflation objective is symmetric."

The U.S. Federal Reserve, the world's largest central bank, raised its short term federal funds rate by a quarter percent yesterday bringing the signature interest rate to 1 3/4%, it's highest level since 2008, the year of the crisis when it dropped from 4.25 to 0.25 (see graph below).

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