The rise in global risk witnessed in 2013 continued during the first quarter of this year as experts taking part in Euromoney’s Country Risk Survey reassessed the investment prospects of EMs versus their developed-country counterparts.

As the political tensions morph into economic problems for Russia and Ukraine, other regional states are becoming embroiled in the crisis, notably Kazakhstan, which had been improving in Euromoney’s Country Risk Survey.

Rising risk scores since 2013 are providing investors with encouragement that the worst is over for the troubled region. Yet sovereign risk remains heightened in familiar territories, with the Syrian turmoil persisting, leaving Gulf states and Israel as relative oases of safety.

The upward trend in the sovereign’s risk-score has continued since the 2013 elections as the state taps the market for sufficient credit to close a substantial financing gap.

Barbados remains a paragon of stability offering solid growth prospects, a stable low-tax regime and a business-friendly environment

Barbados is one of the most diverse economies in the Caribbean. It’s certainly the most robust, drawing in revenues from a wide range of industries (tourism, business services, manufacturing, agriculture), which feed into the region’s most politically and economically stable state.

Ambitious plans to transform the island’s tiny stock exchange into international securities market should further strengthen its position as a financial centre

Published in conjunction with Euromoney Country Risk and the Central Bank of Barbados

A robust and vibrant economy is ready to build on its strengths

Central bank governor DeLisle Worrell explains how Barbados has managed to emerge from the global financial crisis stronger and economically more diverse

The peso’s plunge precipitating the emerging markets sell-off is bang in line with Argentina’s lowest-scoring economic risk indicator and is a home-grown problem linked to an incoherent economic plan and poor communication.

Euromoney’s Country Risk Survey points to limited regional impact of the crisis in Ukraine, in spite of potential spill-over effects.

The appointment of Matteo Renzi as Italy’s new prime minister highlights the problem of consensus policymaking that has been worrying risk experts for some time.

Despite its political problems, Romania’s improving economic fundamentals justify its higher ranking in Euromoney’s Country Risk Survey.

With EM currencies and assets remaining highly volatile amid the recent market sell-off, we ask three Euromoney Country Risk experts whether a wider economic crisis is on the horizon.

The sovereign is now on a par with Botswana, signalling overdue credit-rating action.

The bad start to 2014 for EMs shows that economic fundamentals still count and should be taken as a warning shot across the bows, writes Johan Krijgsman, of Krijgsman & Associates.

With civil unrest on the streets of Ukraine showing few signs of stopping, we ask four ECR experts if a solution can be found to the divided country’s problems.

Strength of economic recovery exaggerated; Necessary reforms in Brazil are lacking

Sovereign slips six places in ECR rankings before rand sell-off.

Central bank takes action to mitigate a prolonged lira slump.

The peso’s plunge precipitating the emerging markets sell-off is bang in line with its lowest-scoring economic risk indicator, and is a home-grown problem linked to an incoherent economic plan and poor communication.

A toxic combination of large external financing gaps and US liquidity withdrawal has increased the risks of investing in triple-B rated emerging market (EM) sovereigns. With many countries facing elections this year and stalling on structural reforms, economists taking part in Euromoney’s Country Risk Survey have placed five of the larger EMs under the microscope.

Global risk continued to rise in 2013, according to the latest results of Euromoney’s Country Risk Survey. Gloomy analysts remain cautious on the eurozone and the potential impact of the withdrawal of US monetary stimulus on capital flows to emerging market economies.

Risk experts had been losing faith in Thailand before its political problems resurfaced.

Victory for the ruling party’s presidential candidate might presage a more orthodox policy line tailored by an IMF programme, but the sovereign’s macro problems remain a concern given the risk of the election result being overturned.

Peru’s trend rise through ECR’s global rankings has raised the possibility that it, not Mexico, will become the second Latin American country to reach tier-two status in Euromoney’s Country Risk Survey, after Chile.

Poland’s secure risk profile is still justified, according to economists and other country-risk experts taking part in Euromoney’s Country Risk Survey. With the sovereign holding steady this year in ECR’s global rankings, and on a longer-term upward trend, its credit ratings should be adjusted upwards.

Identifying countries ripe for an investment-grade rating is a complicated task, with the main rating agencies differing in their assessments of credit risk. Euromoney’s Country Risk Survey highlights several borrowers with bright prospects, having successfully predicted the shift from junk status to investment grade for the Philippines earlier this year.

Qatar remains the safest MENA country while the region’s average risk score in Euromoney’s Country Risk Survey slips again during the third quarter, as economists downgrade their views on most countries polled.