Moody’s Talks – The Big Picture

Sarah Carlson is joined by the lead analyst for the US, William Foster, and Chief Credit Officer for the Americas, Elena Duggar, to discuss their expectations for fiscal, trade and immigration policy under both US presidential candidates, and what they could mean for the US economy and credit. Speakers : William Foster, Senior Vice President at Moody's Ratings; Elena Duggar, MD-Credit Strategy at...

In today’s episode, we’re joined by Hans Peter Lankes, Managing Director of the think tank ODI, as well as Kathrin Muehlbronner from Moody’s Ratings to discuss the effectiveness of recent reform proposals in increasing the lending capacity of multilateral development banks (MDBs) and what they think is needed for MDBs to better address global challenges like climate change, poverty, and inequality...

China has rapidly become the largest producer of electric vehicles (EV) globally, with a nearly 40% increase in sales volume last year. In this episode, Colin Ellis talks with our analyst Gerwin Ho about the drivers behind this growth, how a drive to boost scale amid intense domestic competition has prompted them to look elsewhere and the difficulties they will encounter in boosting exports and se...

With macroeconomic matters moderating, geopolitics has taken center stage with conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere threatening the world order. In this episode, host Colin Ellis calls on NATO advisor and geopolitics expert Klaus Dodds to assess today’s political and environmental flash points. Dodds sees a “world full of wicked problems” and considers some pragmatic outcomes, including pote...

We forecast growing demand for cloud services, the adoption of new AI products and cryptocurrencies will see investment in new data center capacity exceed $2 trillion globally over the next five years. But real customer demand and continued technological improvements could limit the amount of data center capacity that is actually needed over the longer term. In this episode, John Medina explains w...

On 7 July, France held the second and final round of legislative elections, which produced a shock upset for Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National party after strong first round. But with no clear path to a majority and France’s inexperience with broad political coalitions, the country now faces an uncertain political future.  Sarah Carlson discusses what this could mean for the French sovereign...

The digital transformation of the global economy offers big opportunities for companies and governments but also increases their exposure to private and state-backed cyberattacks. In this episode, we talk about the recent rise in these attacks, how new advances like Gen AI are making them more sophisticated, their effects on our assessment of credit risk, and the strategies companies are adopting...

The lead analyst for the UK sovereign rating, Evan Wohlmann, joins Colin Ellis to discuss the potential outcomes, policy changes, and the role of Brexit and immigration in shaping the sovereign’s future rating trajectory. Speaker : Evan Wohlmann, VP-Sr Credit Officer at Moody's Ratings Host : Colin Ellis, MD-Global Credit Strategist at Moody's Ratings Related Research : Government Policy – UK: New...

Last week, President Biden announced that the US will increase tariffs on $18 billion of imports from China in sectors like electric vehicles, semiconductors and solar panels. In this episode, we review the implications of these measures on the US and Chinese economies, the individual sectors we rate, and for the future of US-China trade ties. Speakers : Dima Cvetkova, Analyst/CSR at Moody's Ratin...

The world of finance is always changing. There’s always a new kid on the block, and one of the fastest growing asset classes in recent years is this thing called private credit. But what exactly is private credit and what kind of risks does it pose? That’s the topic we will be discussing today with Christina Padgett, an associate managing director in our Corporate Finance Group.  Speaker: Christin...

Following updates in the first quarter of this year, positive outlooks now outnumber the negative ones we assign to industry sectors globally. In this episode, we speak to Edmond DeForest about the drivers behinds these recent improvements despite the challenges facing the global economy and our expectations for business conditions in the next 12 to 18 months. Speaker : Edmond DeForest, Senior Vic...

The tone has shifted since the meetings last year to cautious optimism about a soft landing for the global economy. But stubborn inflation, budget constraints and geopolitics present growing concerns, particularly in light of recent events in the Middle East. In this episode, we sit down with Marie Diron and Sarah Carlson from the sovereign team to discuss what this means for the future direction...

It’s a long way to global net zero emissions but some industrial efforts are getting traction. Proof-of-concept has been established in steelmaking, where hydrogen can help replace coal, and in aviation, where some planes are taking to the skies on biofuel. In this episode, we discuss the early stages of this transformation and what it will take to keep it going. Speaker : Rebecca Karnovitz, Vice...

Computers are not just on your desk. They're in your phones, your cars, your microwave. Even washing machines are now computers. And the demand for the computer chips that these products use is an increasing focus not just for investors but also for governments globally. In this episode, we discuss how this intervention is impacting the big players and where the market is headed with our lead anal...

The rate will likely decline to 3.6% by the end of 2024, from a 5% peak in January, as central banks begin lowering policy rates. Speakers : Sharon Ou, VP-Sr Credit Officer/Mgr/CSR Host : Colin Ellis, MD-Global Credit Strategist   © 2026 Moody’s Corporation and/or its licensors and affiliates. All rights reserved. Go to www.moodys.com/pages/globaldisclaimer.aspx for complete legal terms and c...

Female labour participation rates have more than recovered losses sustained during the pandemic. The associated boost in economic activity and support to households is positive for a range of issuers. Speakers : Dawn Holland, Director-Economic Research at Moody's Analytics; Ana Rayes, VP-Senior Analyst at Moody's Investors Service Host : William Foster, Senior Vice President at Moody’s Investors S...

Around €300 billion of European spec-grade corporate debt needs refinancing by 2026, but uncertain market access, slower growth and higher interest rates increase risks for some lower rated entities.  Speaker : Martin Hallmark, Senior Vice President-CFG at Moody's Investors Service Host : Colin Ellis, MD-Global Credit Strategist at Moody’s Investors Service   © 2026 Moody’s Corporation and/or...

Since 2020, there have been 20 sovereign defaults, surpassing the total in the entire previous decade. What factors led to this point, where are they concentrated and will they continue? Speakers : William Foster, Senior Vice President at Moody’s Investors Service; David Rogovic, VP-Sr Credit Officer at Moody's Investors Service Host : Sarah Carlson, Senior Vice President at Moody’s Investors Serv...

Strong policies, innovation and falling costs are set to propel green capital spending this year. However, a busy election calendar and slowing economic growth could temper that momentum. Speaker : Rahul Ghosh, MD-Sustainable Finance at Moody's Investors Service Host : Colin Ellis, MD-Global Credit Strategist at Moody’s Investors Service   © 2026 Moody’s Corporation and/or its licensors and a...

A $4 billion fine for the cryptocurrency exchange Binance indicates greater regulatory focus that could bring more security and confidence to the crypto sector. Speaker : Cristiano Ventricelli, VP-Senior Analyst/DFDA at Moody's Investors Service Host : Colin Ellis, MD-Global Credit Strategist at Moody’s Investors Service   © 2026 Moody’s Corporation and/or its licensors and affiliates. All ri...

In this episode of the Big Picture podcast, we delve into the factors underpinning our recent decision to change the outlook on the Chinese sovereign rating to negative. Speaker : Gene Fang, Associate Managing Director - Sovereign Risk Group at Moody's Investors Service Host : Colin Ellis, MD-Global Credit Strategist at Moody’s Investors Service   © 2026 Moody’s Corporation and/or its licenso...

The conflict's credit effects should be limited to Israeli issuers, but an escalation that disrupts global energy and financial markets would widen the scope significantly. Speakers : Kathrin Muehlbronner, Senior VP-Sovereign Risk at Moody's Investors Service; Laura Perez,  Associate MD-Credit Strategy at Moody's Investors Service Host : William Foster, Senior Vice President at Moody’s Investors S...

In this episode of the Big Picture podcast, we delve into the reasons behind our outlook change, factors supporting the Aaa rating and opportunities to slow a decline in fiscal strength. Speaker : William Foster, Senior Vice President at Moody’s Investors Service Host : Colin Ellis, MD-Global Credit Strategist at Moody’s Investors Service   © 2026 Moody’s Corporation and/or its licensors and...

In this episode of the Big Picture podcast, we discuss our forecasts for G20 economic growth and inflation next year, and what this means for companies, lenders and governments. Speakers : Elena Duggar, MD-Credit Strategy; Madhavi Bokil, Senior VP-Credit Strategy Host : Sarah Carlson, Senior VP-Sovereign Related Research : Global Macro Outlook 2024-25: G-20 growth dynamics diverge amid ongoing glo...

In this episode of the Big Picture podcast, we discuss what is driving the recent fall in freight rates and what this could mean for the sector’s efforts to decarbonize and the global economy. Guests: Daniel Harlid, VP-Senior Credit Officer within the Corporate Finance Group at Moody’s Investors Service Host: Colin Ellis, MD-Global Credit Strategist at Moody’s Investors Service   © 2026 Moody...