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http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jul/24/finland-triple-aaa-rating-moodys-eurozone
Island, Lake Inari, Lapland, Finland. The country has maintained its stable outlook with credit ratings agency Moody's. Photograph: Jorma Jaemsen/zefa/Corbis
Finland – home of polar bears, pickled fish and Nokia – is now the only eurozone country with a stable triple-A credit rating, according to Moody's.
On Monday night, the credit rating agency hit Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands with a stinging blow, cutting the outlook on their triple-A ratings from stable to negative. That pushes them into the same bracket as France and Austria, leaving Finland the only European country with a triple-A rating and stable outlook.
What has Finland done right? It has a population of just 5.3 million, spread out over a country roughly the size of Germany. Its economy is dominated by services but it is competitive in manufacturing – principally wood and electronics – and exports account for more than a third of GDP. Income per capita is among the highest in western Europe and the country is celebrated for its generous welfare state.
Moody's said that while Finland would not be immune to the eurozone crisis, it had "strong buffers which differentiate it from the other AAAs". Among these were the fact it has no debt on a net basis. The IMF estimates Helsinki will collect taxes and other revenues of €105bn (£82bn) this year, compared with €101bn of government debt
Island, Lake Inari, Lapland, Finland. The country has maintained its stable outlook with credit ratings agency Moody's. Photograph: Jorma Jaemsen/zefa/Corbis
Finland – home of polar bears, pickled fish and Nokia – is now the only eurozone country with a stable triple-A credit rating, according to Moody's.
On Monday night, the credit rating agency hit Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands with a stinging blow, cutting the outlook on their triple-A ratings from stable to negative. That pushes them into the same bracket as France and Austria, leaving Finland the only European country with a triple-A rating and stable outlook.
What has Finland done right? It has a population of just 5.3 million, spread out over a country roughly the size of Germany. Its economy is dominated by services but it is competitive in manufacturing – principally wood and electronics – and exports account for more than a third of GDP. Income per capita is among the highest in western Europe and the country is celebrated for its generous welfare state.
Moody's said that while Finland would not be immune to the eurozone crisis, it had "strong buffers which differentiate it from the other AAAs". Among these were the fact it has no debt on a net basis. The IMF estimates Helsinki will collect taxes and other revenues of €105bn (£82bn) this year, compared with €101bn of government debt
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