With only slowly recovering economic growth and structurally high interest costs, Hungary needs sustained fiscal discipline to ensure budget deficits narrow gradually and debt-to-GDP stabilises before and after parliamentary elections due next spring.

The European Commission (EC) has prepared an innovative if complex plan to mobilise seized Russian assets to fund Ukraine. This initiative is critical given the absence of any credible alternative for providing sustained financial support.

Spain needs to encourage more investment in its electricity grid and storage capacity by allowing utilities to earn higher returns while ensuring growing volumes of renewable energy do not distort market pricing.

Slovakia’s government is continuing efforts to reduce the budget deficit despite sluggish growth but the risk of missing targets amid worsening fiscal fatigue is rising. Use of temporary measures raises doubts over the durability of the adjustments.

Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium need far more investment to modernise their electricity transmission grids through 2034 than southern European countries, hence the importance of having secured most of the EUR 200bn-plus in required funding.

Poland’s structurally embedded spending increases and wider budget deficits highlight its fiscal vulnerabilities as institutional gridlock hampers any durable adjustment. Yet resilient growth and EU financial support are containing debt-servicing costs.

The latest government shutdown in the United States occurred as a result of policy disagreements between Republicans and Democrats on issues such as healthcare, but it reflects the country’s deepening political polarisation.

US plans to slap hefty tariffs on pharmaceutical imports have led European firms to speed up US investment and reset supply chains, the full credit impact of which will depend on the products targeted and whether the extra costs compromise innovation.

As Russia’s war in Ukraine war drags on with no end in sight, the challenges for Ukraine’s debt sustainability and finances are mounting. Addressing them requires the use of frozen Russian reserves. Deeper debt restructuring should also be considered.

LANXESS moves to divest Envalior stake, supporting deleveraging strategy and investment-grade credit metrics