Bangkok--8 May--Standard & Poor's While record-high oil prices and a U.S. recession are causing a slowdown in most industrial countries and in the global economy, record-high commodity prices and the shifts in world growth patterns are likely to keep most emerging markets on the rise, said Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services in a special report. The article, entitled "Growing Emerging Markets Reduce The Global Impact Of The U.S. Recession," examines the trade and financial flows between industrial and emerging markets and shows that the world's economies are more tightly entwined than they have ever been. "High commodity prices are a problem for the industrial countries, almost all of which are commodity importers, but a boon to the many emerging economies that are net exporters of commodities," said Standard & Poor’s chief economist David Wyss. "While Latin America and the OPEC countries are the greatest beneficiaries, sub-Saharan Africa is also a winner, averaging 5.4% real growth over the past five years, perhaps its best performance in history. Although we think commodity prices will moderate from current levels, they will remain high enough to keep these economies strong," he added. Mr. Wyss also noted that the talk of decoupling in the world economy is misplaced. "Trade and financial flows show that the world economies are more tightly entwined than they have ever been. The world's economic train has more engines attached to it than in the past," said Mr. Wyss. In 2006, the last year for which we have full data, the U.S. accounted for only 12% of world growth—barely one-third its share a decade earlier. China's share has expanded to 30% of world growth, and India and Eastern Europe each account for 11%. While the U.S. remains the largest economy, others are moving faster than the U.S. and are contributing more to growth. Standard & Poor’s expects world growth to slow to 3.9% this year from 4.8% last year (International Monetary Fund purchasing power weights), still healthy by historical standards (to 3.1% from 3.9% weighted by nominal exchange rates). This article is part of a special issue of Standard & Poor's CreditWeek entitled, "Beyond BRIC--2008." The issue coincides with a webcast scheduled for May 7, 2008: "Will Frontier Markets Flourish While Industrial Countries Falter?" The webcast will feature many authors in the report, including David Wyss, Standard & Poor's credit analysts John Chambers, chairman of the sovereign rating committee, and Juan De Mollein, managing director for Latin America structured finance, as well as Alka Banerjee of Standard & Poor's Index Analysis and Management group. Please visit www.standardandpoors.com/beyondbric for more information. Media Contacts: David Wargin, New York (212) 438-1579 [email protected] John Piecuch, Paris (33)-1-44-20-66-57 [email protected] Analyst Contact: David Wyss, Chief Economist, New York (212) 438-4952 Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), is the world's foremost provider of financial market intelligence, including independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data. With approximately 8,500 employees, including wholly owned affiliates, located in 23 countries and markets, Standard & Poor's is an essential part of the world's financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for more than 140 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com. Key Contacts: Americas Media Relations: (1) 212-438-6667 media_ [email protected] Americas Customer Service: (1) 212-438-7280 [email protected]