What Is a Sovereign Credit Rating? A sovereign credit rating is an independent assessment of the creditworthiness of a country or sovereign entity. Sovereign credit ratings can give investors insights into the level of risk associated with investing in the debt of a particular country, including any political risk. At the request of the country
What is Sovereign Debt? Sovereign debt is issued by a country’s government to borrow money. Sovereign debt is also known as government debt, public debt, and national debt. Governments borrow for a variety of reasons, from financing public investments to boosting employment. The level of sovereign debt and its interest rates will also reflect the
What Is Sovereign Default? Sovereign default is the failure of a national government to repay its debt. Governments are typically hesitant to default, since doing so is likely to bar the country from accessing debt markets again for years, and to make borrowing more expensive, at least for a time, when it once again becomes
What Is the Sovereign Fund of Brazil? The term Sovereign Fund of Brazil refers to a sovereign wealth fund that was created by Brazil in 2008. The fund was developed to provide support to the country. Its objectives included funding projects of strategic interest to the nation and to help Brazilian firms expand their reach
What Is the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index (SOX)? The PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index (SOX) is a capitalization-weighted index composed of 30 semiconductor companies. The companies in the index have primary business operations that involve the design, distribution, manufacture, and sale of semiconductors. The index is designed to track the performance of listed semiconductors. Key Takeaways
What Is Standard & Poor’s (S&P)? Standard & Poor’s (S&P) is a company well known around the world as a creator of financial market indices—widely used as investment benchmarks—a data source, and an issuer of credit ratings for companies and debt obligations. It’s perhaps best-known for the popular and often-cited S&P 500 Index. The company’s
What Is the E-mini S&P 500? The term E-mini S&P 500 refers to an electronically-traded futures and options contract on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). Launched by the CME in 1997, the E-mini S&P 500 is open to all investors. It allows them to hedge their bets or speculate on the price movements of the
What Is the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index? The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index measures the change in the value of the U.S. residential housing market by tracking the purchase prices of single-family homes. The index is compiled and published monthly. The national index is widely viewed
What Is the CNX Nifty? The term CNX Nifty refers to a regional stock market index found on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India. The index is composed of 50 of the largest and most liquid stocks found on the exchange. The Nifty 50, as it is commonly known, is used to represent the
What Is the S&P 500 Index? The S&P 500 Index, or Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, is a market-capitalization-weighted index of 500 leading publicly traded companies in the U.S. It is not an exact list of the top 500 U.S. companies by market cap because there are other criteria that the index includes. Still, the S&P
