More Downgrades On The Horizon

Just after midnight on November 10, ratings agency Fitch downgraded its sovereign ratings for Bulgaria ('BBB-'), Hungary ('BBB'), Kazakhstan ('BBB-') and Romania ('BB+'), while also revising down Russia's 'BBB+' outlook to 'negative' from 'stable'. The moves unto themselves hardly came as a surprise considering earlier downgrades of Romania and Hungary by Moody's and S&P , respectively. That said, the blanket negative revision of four disparate countries across the emerging Europe region does send a particularly negative signal, reinforcing our view that the problems in individual economies are systemic and rooted in global problems.

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