Moody’s has decided that India’s rating outlook is now “Positive” from “Stable”, yesterday. India is rated “Baa3 (Positive)” now, which sounds like a battery operated goat. Not to say that we’re mountainous creatures, but it is likely we sometimes behave like sheep. Thrice. Positively.
You might think at Baa3 is better than Aaa and you would be wrong. The Aaa countries, like Sweden, Singapore, and even the US are screaming buys.
They started with some A, B and C. Then they added small letters to complicate things. Then a number (3, 2, 1). Then a (Positive) or (Stable) or (Negative). It’s a wonder we let these guys get any more airtime than baby raccoons cuddling up to elephants. (Which I would rate highly, but I digress)
In Moody’s country investment ratings, India is still higher than:
- Portugal (Ba2)
- Greece (Caa1)
- Russia (Ba1)
And still lower than China (Aa3), Brazil, Spain, Italy (Baa2) or Ireland (Baa1).
India is still at the lowest investment grade there is – and we have very little dollar denominated debt. While I believe there are headwinds for India, its a little silly to say we are way lower than these other countries that have just about kinda-sorta managed to stick it through a crisis. Rating agencies typically don’t know their head from their backside, so at best this is newsworthy for the sound it makes (Baa) or for it’s usefulness (Bah).
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