Daily Update — July 30, 2026
Democrats' Midterm Energy Message; US, Canada Q2 Leveraged Finance Summary Report; and DevOps and Observability
Today is Thursday, July 30, 2026, and here’s your curated selection of Essential Intelligence on global markets from S&P Global. Subscribe to be notified of each new Daily Update.
Energy Expansion
Discussing Democrats' midterm message on energy
As the US midterm elections approach, the Democrats have a chance to regain power in Congress by highlighting policies that address rising gasoline prices and utility bills.
President Donald Trump has implemented major shifts in US energy policy, including opposition to offshore wind projects, prolonging the lives of coal-fired power plants and withdrawing from climate treaties.
In this episode of the “Energy Evolution” podcast by S&P Global Energy, host Dan Testa discussed with Mary Landrieu, a senior policy adviser at Van Ness Feldman and former Democratic US senator from Louisiana, and Scott Segal, a partner at Bracewell and co-chair of the law firm's Policy Resolution Group, how issues such as climate change and the Iran war are impacting campaigns this fall.
Capital Markets
Q2 2026 U.S. And Canada Leveraged Finance Summary Report: Credit Remains Resilient While AI Reshapes Industries
US and Canadian speculative-grade credit quality and earnings remained broadly resilient through the second quarter of 2026, despite geopolitical volatility, shifting trade policy and persistent inflation, according to S&P Global Ratings.
Growth moderated but is expected to remain near trend at 2.1% in 2026. Nevertheless, supply chain, energy price and monetary policy uncertainty are weighing on confidence and lower-income consumers.
Credit conditions are stable but increasingly issuer- and sector-specific. Financing is available for many borrowers, but risk-averse investors are demanding stronger credit quality and compensation for heightened uncertainty. Software continues to pressure the loan market, with software loans ending June about 670 basis points wide of non-software loans and significant 2027-28 maturities concentrated in lower-rated software issuers. New speculative-grade issuance is flat versus the second quarter of 2025, with less repricing and refinancing. Capital goods benefited from infrastructure spending, reshoring, data center expansion and stronger cash flow performance.
Artificial Intelligence
Next in Tech | Ep. 278: DevOps and Observability
As enterprises increasingly rely on AI in day-to-day operations, concerns are growing over whether AI-driven decisions are accurate and effective. In episode 278 of the “Next in Tech” podcast series, Mike Fratto, senior research analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence, joined Eric Hanselman, chief analyst at S&P Global Energy, to share findings from his research on how observability can add crucial context for AI systems and administrative teams. Since data is the foundation for AI value, weak or incomplete operational data can undermine trust in outcomes. Observability platforms are therefore collecting and correlating a wider range of signals and integrating them.
Observability data can also strengthen confidence in automation. Teams can develop and test scripts and validate automated control decisions. In failure scenarios, observability helps guide decision-making by clarifying what is and isn’t happening, enabling teams to rule out potential causes.
In case you missed it
- India’s Ministry of Power has projected an additional load of 26.3 gigawatts from AI data centers by fiscal year 2031-32, which is expected to be integrated into the grid and primarily met through renewable energy capacity.
- Insurance M&A deal activity in Europe, the Middle East and Africa continued to decline in the second quarter of 2026 with 41 transactions, compared with 79 deals in the same period in 2025.
- The Panama Canal Authority temporarily suspended auction processes for close-in transit slots and reduced the number of daily crossings to 34 from 36, starting July 25.
Upcoming events
- LNG Market, Pricing and Commercial Fundamentals | Singapore | Aug. 5-6 (2-day training)
- Perth Energy Briefing 2026 | Aug. 6 (in-person event)
- Insurance Capital Adds Earnings and Risks For Alternative Asset Managers | Aug. 11 (Webinar)
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