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Moody's warns Jamaica's finances weak
published: Sunday | August 20, 2006 <DIV class=KonaBody>
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Dr. Omar Davies, Minister of <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: blue! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">Finance</SPAN>, faces new pressures with a warning from Moody's that Jamaica's debt ratios are worse than comparative countries.
Keith Collister, Business Writer
Moody's, a leading international ratings agency, has reconfirmed Jamaica's B1 rating, which in its classification is four notches below investment grade of Baa3, but warned that the country's finances were weak.
Moody's specifically drew attention to the fact that Jamaica was among countries with the weakest finances, in terms of debt to GDP, debt to revenues (mainly <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: blue! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">taxes</SPAN>) and interest to revenues ratios.
In fact, the agency said that if its rating assessments were based on quantitative criteria alone, "Jamaica's <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: blue! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">government </SPAN><SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: blue! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">bond</SPAN> ratings would likely be assigned to a lower rating category."
Jamaica's debt ratios are not consistent with its B1 rating cohort, or even the entire B1 to C rating category, Moody's acknowledges, but justified its current rating for Jamaica, saying its analysis included strong qualitative elements of steadfast commitment to fiscal discipline, proven ability to respond to shocks, and a strong willingness to pay debts.
Jamaica's key <A class=kLink oncontextmenu="return false;" id=KonaLink3 onmouseover=adlinkMouseOver(event,this,3); style="POSITION: relative; TEXT-DECORATION: underline! important" onclick=adlinkMouseClick(event,this,3); onmouseout=adlinkMouseOut(event,this,3); href="http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20060820/business/business4.html#" target=_top><FONT style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: blue! important;
published: Sunday | August 20, 2006 <DIV class=KonaBody>
- File
Dr. Omar Davies, Minister of <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: blue! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">Finance</SPAN>, faces new pressures with a warning from Moody's that Jamaica's debt ratios are worse than comparative countries.
Keith Collister, Business Writer
Moody's, a leading international ratings agency, has reconfirmed Jamaica's B1 rating, which in its classification is four notches below investment grade of Baa3, but warned that the country's finances were weak.
Moody's specifically drew attention to the fact that Jamaica was among countries with the weakest finances, in terms of debt to GDP, debt to revenues (mainly <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: blue! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">taxes</SPAN>) and interest to revenues ratios.
In fact, the agency said that if its rating assessments were based on quantitative criteria alone, "Jamaica's <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: blue! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">government </SPAN><SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: blue! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">bond</SPAN> ratings would likely be assigned to a lower rating category."
Jamaica's debt ratios are not consistent with its B1 rating cohort, or even the entire B1 to C rating category, Moody's acknowledges, but justified its current rating for Jamaica, saying its analysis included strong qualitative elements of steadfast commitment to fiscal discipline, proven ability to respond to shocks, and a strong willingness to pay debts.
Jamaica's key <A class=kLink oncontextmenu="return false;" id=KonaLink3 onmouseover=adlinkMouseOver(event,this,3); style="POSITION: relative; TEXT-DECORATION: underline! important" onclick=adlinkMouseClick(event,this,3); onmouseout=adlinkMouseOut(event,this,3); href="http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20060820/business/business4.html#" target=_top><FONT style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: blue! important;
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