Q – We were at a friends house last night doing some Pinot Noir blind tastings accompanied by s’mores when the subject of credit ratings for countries came up. A Wall Street player in our group said that he believed that credit agencies that rate businesses also rate countries. I’d really be interested in which countries get the highest ratings if you could chase that down. If you do, we’ll invite you to our next party, “Chardonnay and Cannolis.” We’re up in Westport.
A – We really like your themes. Well done. It sounds like no one in the neighborhood appreciate a fine cheese selection.
Your friend is correct. Several major ratings agencies have identified a select group of nations that have achieved the highest financial health ratings form the three major agencies. They are: Canada, Finland, Germany, Luxemburg, Australia, Singapore, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and Denmark.
These countries could, in our view, form the basis for a travel bucket list of countries you need to get to know better. Each has excellent healthcare, low or non-existent poverty, and high level accommodations and cuisine. It is also interesting to note that none of these countries has a serious pollution or crime problems so travel is intrinsically safer than staying at home.
