Worker's health insurance premiums continue to outpace wages, which is credit negative for the economy and companies, as they weigh on households finances and impede access to healthcare.

Prospects for lower GDP growth will lead to higher delinquencies, lower business growth and fiscal constraints that will limit the government's ability to support banks. Economic policy uncertainty could further affect investment decisions.

Spillovers from an uncertain operating environment are most apparent in softer capital formation, although some signs of trade and investment diversion are emerging.

Digital platforms and demand for services are fueling growth in the number of freelancers and independent workers in the US. These workers would likely feel the effects of an economic downturn more acutely than employees at traditional companies.

This report analyzes the latest signals from the Moody’s US Financial Conditions Indicator, a composite of 18 measures of financial and economic activity, grouped into four components.

Improvements in the future growth potential of many EU countries depend on stepped-up productivity and investment. These are only likely to materialise if progress is made in structural economic reforms of labour markets, product and service markets.

Mexico’s proposed new budget assumes relatively optimistic GDP growth and oil production. These assumptions result in the budget overestimating next year's government revenue and underestimating the financial support that PEMEX may require.

US interest rates are likely to remain low for some time, which will have a large impact on the financial strategies of US bank and non-bank financial institutions. The low rate environment will encourage more risk-taking and US bank consolidation.

The escalation of tensions between the US and China will further cloud the trade and economic outlook in Asia, with a predominantly negative effect at the sector level.

The new trade restrictions, which mark a further escalation of tensions between the world's two largest economies, will be credit negative for a number of US industries.

China's restrictions are credit negative for large soybean-producing states, as well as for food processors and providers of loans and other financial services to the farm sector.

The US administration has postponed a portion of its planned new tariffs on Chinese imports, but they remain a credit negative for US companies and retailers within the affected industries.

The continuing political uncertainty comes as the central government is very unlikely to achieve its deficit target for 2019.

Output disruption will not leave a long-lasting impact on the government or Saudi Aramco, but highlights elevated and broader-based exposure to geopolitical risk than previously assumed.

Argentina's nascent stabilization of economic activity has unraveled in the wake of national primary elections in August. The outcome triggered a severe market reaction, a credit negative for the sovereign and for most business sectors.

UK growth declined in Q2 2019 and the core inflation rate has stabilised in recent months. In a no-deal Brexit scenario, the UK economy could be permanently smaller than with a trade agreement.

Brendan Sheehan from the Governance group and Lesley Ritter of the Cyber Risk team discuss the varying levels of transparency in cyber corporate disclosures across high risk sectors

The global investment banks are at high risk of cyberattacks through their multiple businesses and have accordingly enhanced their monitoring and risk-mitigation capabilities.

Investment in IT infrastructure and personnel, establishing response plans and controls, and cybersecurity insurance will help local governments reduce the impact of cyberattacks.

Cyber threats will continue to grow in sophistication, pushing hospital managements to allocate more resources to protect data and limit system vulnerabilities.

The unabated rise in income inequality, if left unaddressed, poses long-term fiscal and political challenges to the US' credit profile.

Miners' use of ground and surface water that local communities rely on has resulted in protests and prompted stricter environmental regulations that will exacerbate the challenge.

Governance failures can lead to severe reputational and financial risks, including increased debt financing costs or, at the extreme, complete loss of access to capital markets

Deconstruction of contingent liability risks for non-financial SOEs allows us to determine overall exposure. How liabilities are managed informs assessment on probability of crystallisation.