The US higher education sector, already challenged by demographic trends that have led to a shrinking pool of high school graduates, faces broader societal trends that will heighten enrollment volatility for some institutions. Smaller public and private institutions are particularly at risk because they are highly dependent on tuition revenue and do not have strong brands or deep applicant pools.

Indonesia plans to sharply increase renewable energy capacity to achieve net-zero emissions by no later than 2060. Supportive government policies will be vital to meet the country’s renewable expansion targets and to attract private capital into the energy sector. The credit impact of the energy transition will be manageable for rated issuers.

The credit impact of ESG considerations is highly negative or very highly negative for about 20% of the more than 5,700 debt issuers that we have scored for exposure to ESG risks. The credit impact of these risks is most pronounced among corporate, sovereign and sub-sovereign issuers.

The credit impact of initiatives announced at the COP27 climate summit will depend on how and when policymakers and market participants translate them into action.

The potential impact of sea-level-rise cannot be taken lightly. According to Moody’s Climate on Demand application, by 2040, 135 million people and up to 9% of GDP from the world’s 10 largest economies will be exposed to rising sea levels and associated flood risk.

US municipalities are increasing their regulations for commercial real estate energy use and emissions, leading to potential financial strains on owners and posing cash flow risk to properties underlying commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS). In the largest markets with fines, strains will be modest for most CMBS collateral.