BlackRock has launched a new sovereign-risk index to help fund managers assess credit risk for countries, The Wall Street Journal reports. The index grades 44 countries in the order of their likelihood to experience a default, devaluation or above-trend inflation.

Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Finland are topping the index, while Greece and Portugal were rated poorly due to below-average credit levels. The nations were ranked using research and data about factors affecting their credit quality and the findings were validated using sovereign-credit-default-swap spreads.

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