Spain received a double ratings upgrade from Moody's and Fitch, with both agencies citing the country's improving economy and labour market. Moody's raised its rating for Spain to A3, while Fitch upgraded its previously-held A minus rating to 'A'. The moves come after S&P lifted its own rating for the country earlier this month.

Madrid

Spain has been upgraded by both Moody's and Fitch, marking the first such upgrades from these agencies since 2018. The rating improvements are attributed to Spain's strengthening economy, labor market recovery, and diversification, with significant contributions from tourism, EU funds, and a robust banking sector. 

Despite ongoing political instability and the absence of a new budget since 2022, Spain's economic performance has outpaced much of the Eurozone, with growth projections at 2.7% for the year. The country's low export exposure to the US and effective integration of migrants have also contributed to its resilience, setting it apart from neighboring economies like France.

Spain earns double ratings upgrade from Moody's, Fitch

Now, Spain received a double ratings upgrade from both Moody's and Fitch. Both agencies sign in the country's improving economy and labor market. Moody's raised its rating for Spain to a three while Fitch upgraded. It's previously held a minus rating to a. The move comes after S&P lifted its own rating earlier this month. We're expecting fresh data out of Spain later this morning. The September inflation print as well as retail sales for the month of August will also be released. Charlotte is joining us with more charlotte. We've spoken in the past and there's a whole documentary on terms of what is making the Spanish economy so attractive in this stage. The impressive thing is that this is also happening while the political picture is a little uncertain. Walk us through what's going on. That is the really interesting contrast that you have for Spain there, but certainly these upgrades, the first upgrade from Moody's and Fitch since 2018, the first one from S&P since 2019. Of course, we know as we discussed in the past, the comeback of tourism after the pandemic has been a big boost for the Spanish economy. It's around 14% of GDP, so that was an important bit. They are big beneficiary of the next gen EU funds as well, the second biggest one after Italy. So all these boosted the Spanish economy in the past few years, but they highlight all these agencies as other elements for the diversification. Thanks to some of these funds as well of the Spanish economy. Moody's is talking about a more balanced economic growth model. They mentioned the strengthening in the banking sector that increases the economy's resiliency. They talk about the competitive advantage in renewable energy. We know that is a big one for Spain as well. An important one, of course, is migration. We know that in contrast with a lot of other European countries that have opened their borders and that has helped field a lot of jobs in Spain that has boosted the economy as well. And we know a lot of that migration comes from Spain, a lot of that from South America. So they speak the language. A lot of them have Spanish passports as well. So it's a very positive, easy migration that gets into the economy very quickly. Another one that Fitch highlight is the low exposure to the US in terms of exports as well. They have only around 1.5% of their GDP of their export is to the US compared to 10% for Italy or Germany. So that's helping them also being shielded a little bit from the tariffs at the moment. So all these elements playing there, allowing Spain to be upgraded in their growth for this year to 2.7%. That's double the Eurozone for this year. But as you said, that's all despite the political instability. And compare and contrast with neighbouring France, we know that the political instability has been a factor for downgrades recently. We know in Spain, they haven't passed a budget since 2022 because it's a minority government, because they don't have a majority. And we know Pedro Sanchez is relying with a myriad of smaller partners there in government. But that doesn't seem to be affecting the economy. That's stopping them from passing some new reforms that potentially would boost even more the economy. But certainly we see that the factors so far, you know, it's still working for them despite having no functioning budget, at least for the moment. So that's reflected, of course, in the bond market. They have a lower yield than France now in the 10-year, and that has been playing out over the past few years. So again, it's very interesting to compare and contrast France and Spain. That's where I was going to go next, actually, because you cover both And not too long ago, we're talking about how, I can't remember what was the rating agency, but one of them was downgrading the outlook for France. At the same time, you have Spain in this economic highlight. To what extent are there lessons here perhaps for the French political scene from Spain, given how resilient the Spanish economy has been? Indeed, despite the fact that you mentioned that they haven't managed to approve a budget in several years. Yeah, but there's a question of trend as well. If you just look at the debt, for example, the debt during the highest of COVID, it was 124% of GDP. It's down to 102%. So the trend and how it's going is very much affecting the prospect for the economy. And we know that in France, it's been going up. So, for example, that's clearly the trend. So the political situation is hindering the capacity of the French government to tackle these issues and make some difficult choices potentially in public spending. And in Spain, they have been doing that work. And we know again, and you can say that for Spain or for Italy, that, these economies have been hit very hard after the financial crisis and they have had to clean up the economies in depth at a very high social cost for many years. But now, finally, they're reaping the fruit of all this. And these economies, as we've seen again through the different Mediterranean Southern economies, they are doing much better than some Northern economies. The narrative has definitely changed from 10 years or so ago. Charlotte, thank you so much for the update.

Moldova's pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) claimed a clear lead and a new majority in parliamentary elections on Sunday, seen as pivotal for the country's future in the EU.

Chișinău

Moldova's pro-EU party wins high-stakes parliamentary election

Washington is preparing for the arrival of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who is set to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday. President Trump is advancing a plan aimed at securing the release of hostages, ending the war in Gaza, and outlining a post-war strategy.

Washington

Netanyahu set to meet Trump at the White House

The military wing of Hamas said it had lost contact with two Israeli hostages held in Gaza City, and called on Israel to pull troops back and suspend air strikes for 24 hours so fighters could retrieve the captives.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Middle East Conflict

Hamas says it lost contact with two hostages in Gaza City siege

Iran's parliament on Sunday (September 28) condemned what it called "illegal" sanctions, after the United Nations reimposed restrictions over the country's nuclear program at the weekend.

Tehran

Iran parliament slams reimposed UN sanctions as 'illegal'

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slammed Russia for the new wave of attacks, which killed at least four in Kyiv, including a child, and accused them of deliberately targeting civilian positions to incite fear and terror. At least 70 others were injured.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

At least four killed as Russia launches major offensive on Kyiv

At least 36 people were killed and more than 50 injured on Saturday (September 27) in a stampede at a rally held by Tamil actor Vijay, who is campaigning for election, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu said.

Tamil Nadu

Dozens killed in political rally stampede in India

Hezbollah has commemorated one year since the death of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed by Israel during their conflict. At a gathering in Beirut, the group's secretary-general Naim Qassem reaffirmed Hezbollah's refusal to disarm, despite ongoing Israeli attacks and a ceasefire agreement.

Beirut

Lebanon's Hezbollah refuses to disarm

Colombian President Gustavo Petro brushed off reports that his U.S. visa had been revoked, saying, “I don’t care.” The leader was filmed outside United Nations headquarters in New York, where he joined thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters during the General Assembly.

Manhattan

‘I don’t care’: Colombia’s Petro dismisses U.S. visa revocation

Surveillance video obtained by CBS News showed the moments a gunman shot at detainees and agents who were in a van at a Dallas ICE facility on Wednesday. One of the victim's pregnant wife also speaks out.

Dallas

Video shows gunman shooting at detainees, ICE agents

The Trump administration will ask the Supreme Court to decide the constitutionality of the president's executive order on the 14th Amendment, which seeks to curtail birthright citizenship, according to reports. Willie James Inman has the latest.

Supreme Court to decide on birthright citizenship

Powerful monsoon rains in the Southwest are blamed for several deaths in Arizona. The fast-rising water caused flash flooding and chaos. Meteorologist Andrew Kozak has the latest.

Globe

Deadly flooding in Arizona as intense weather sweeps across U.S

Dozens of people have been killed in Gaza on Saturday, as Israel's assault on Gaza City intensifies. In New York this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about prominent U.S. allies formally recognizing a Palestinian state.

Dozens killed in Gaza as Israel's assault intensifies

At least 36 people were killed and more than 50 injured in a stampede at a rally held by Tamil actor Vijay, who is campaigning for election, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu said.

Karur

According to the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, a store, ten retail outlets, two apartment buildings, and several non-residential premises were damaged.

Zaporizhzhia

Ukraine goes dark as Russian drone attacks damage facilities

A day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a fiery speech at the UN General Assembly, at least 44 people have been killed in attacks across Gaza. Ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza City are forcing more Palestinians to flee.

Trump talks of Israel-Gaza deal as IDF strikes refugee camp

U.S President Donald Trump has signed an executive order outlining the terms of a deal to sell TikTok’s American operation to a group of stateside investors. CBC’s Ashley Fraser breaks down the deal and what it could mean for the social media platform's algorithm.

Toronto

Global Tariffs

Breaking down Trump’s TikTok deal

UN sanctions on Iran that were lifted as part of the 2015 nuclear deal are set to come back in force, essentially killing the landmark agreement. The inability to find a common ground – on all sides - is raising fears of further confrontation.

Sanctions against Iran set to resume after UN vote

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly in New York City on Friday. The leader made defiant statements about the countries that recently recognized the Palestinian state, while U.N. delegates walked out.

New York

Netanyahu makes bold address as U.N. amid delegate walkouts, protests

UN sanctions are set to be reimposed on Iran on Saturday - after a failed bid by Russia and China to delay them. Only four countries voted in favour of the draft resolution.

UN set to reimpose sanctions on Iran on Saturday

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released more files turned over by the estate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Washington County

House Democrats release more Epstein files

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wore a QR code at the U.N. General Assembly linking to images of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack as Western nations move to recognize Palestine. Dozens of delegates walked out in protest.

Dozens of delegates walk out as Netanyahu speaks at U.N.

A court on Thursday (September 25) sentenced former French president Nicolas Sarkozy to five years in prison over a scheme for late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to fund his 2007 presidential run.

Paris

Former French president Sarkozy sentenced to five years in prison

The U.S. Justice Department filed criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey on Thursday (September 25), in a dramatic escalation of President Donald Trump's retribution campaign against his political enemies.

Former FBI chief James Comey charged

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday new tariffs set to take effect next Wednesday, including a 100% tariff on pharmaceutical drugs. There will also be tariffs on a broad range of imported goods, such as kitchen cabinets, some furniture and trucks.

U.S. to impose new tariffs on pharmaceuticals, some furniture, trucks

US President Donald Trump has hosted his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House. The two leaders discussed Türkiye's long-disputed F-35 fighter jets, trade and energy ties as well as regional matters.

Istanbul

Trump hosts Erdogan as U.S. considers lifting ban on F-35 sales

Danish officials say a series of drone incursions they’re calling hybrid attacks at airports were carried out by ‘professional actors,’ and some analysts are pointing to Russia as a culprit. Russia has denied involvement.

Copenhagen

Russia denies involvement in drone flyovers at Danish airports

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has summoned hundreds of senior military officials to Virginia for an urgent gathering. The pentagon has provided very little details about the purpose of this meeting.

Quantico

Hegseth calls rare meeting of hundreds of senior military officers

Spain and Italy have sent naval vessels into the eastern Mediterranean to escort a flotilla of activists trying to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza. It’s a move that could set up tensions at sea and comes after the convoy says it was attacked by drones.

Spain, Italy send navies to escort Gaza aid flotilla

Federal agents in Washington state have seized more than 50,000 counterfeit pills laced with carfentanil, a drug said to be 100 times more potent than fentanyl.

Centralia

Feds seize 50,000 pills laced with drug 100 times stronger than fentanyl

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the United Nations General Assembly virtually after the U.S. revoked visas for him and members of his delegation. CBS News' Olivia Gazis reports.

Breakdown