Some emerging economies are safer than developed countries. According to recent research by COFACE (Compagnie Française d'Assurance pour le Commerce Extérieur), a French foreign trade insurance company, the scoreboard of solvency risk countries (the likelihood that a country will pay off its foreign debt) has improved slightly since the previous scoreboard (September 2010). Of the over 80 countries examined, the only two to be downgraded or be given a negative comment were Ireland and Mozambique. Argentina, Nigeria, Peru and Uruguay were upgraded. The influence of the macroeconomic and institutional situation on the credit risk of companies, measured on a seven-point scale (A1, A2, A3, A4, B, C, D) shows that big emerging economies now have better credit scores than many countries in the European Union. Brazil, China and India are now rated A3, the same as Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom and one rank higher than Greece, Hungary and Ireland. Ireland is the only country in the world to have been downgraded by three notches since the climax of its banking crisis in January 2008. Brazil, India and China are now close on the heels of France and the United States, which are now both A2 (downgraded from A1 in January 2009). Two countries alone have kept hold of their prestigious A1 ranking since the start of the world crisis, namely Sweden and Switzerland. COFACE comments that Asia (apart from Vietnam and Thailand) is now at the same credit rating as before the crisis, Latin America is doing well and the credit rating for most of Africa is unchanged, apart from South Africa, which is generating concern because of the social crisis and problems with attracting investors over the long-term. (I.L./transl.fl)