Daily Update — October 27, 2025
Shipping Decarbonization Efforts; AI for Private Markets; and European Leveraged Finance
Today is Monday, October 27, 2025, 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 Transition & Sustainability
Listen: Sail away: Shipping gets creative in efforts to decarbonize | EnergyCents
The maritime and shipping sector, which accounts for 80% of global trade and 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, is under increasing pressure to decarbonize.
Dana Rodriguez, program manager at The Decarb Hub, and Aroob Sheikh, shipping and freight reporter at S&P Global, joined “EnergyCents” podcast hosts Hill Vaden and Sam Humphreys to discuss the steps being taken by the shipping industry to reach net-zero, from retrofitting the existing fleet to dual fuel technology.
Artificial Intelligence
The paradox of progress: How managed services multiply the value of AI for private markets operations
The era of AI in private markets is here, and positive early results are accelerating adoption. With AI taking on a growing share of middle- and back-office operations, it may seem like reduced reliance on managed services is the natural outcome. However, early adopters are discovering that managed services are the key to unlocking AI’s true value.
Large language models are transformative for industries where unstructured data is prevalent. But these models are fed by massive, structured data sets that have been historically unavailable within private markets. The illiquidity, opacity and complexity that characterize this industry mean that a fully automated, straight-through workflow is unfeasible today and unlikely to be viable any time soon.
Private Markets
European Leveraged Finance Monthly: September 2025
Private credit investment is increasingly targeting investment-grade corporates seeking tailored financing solutions outside public debt markets, drawn to its risk-adjusted returns. Infrastructure is among the main growth areas for private credit in Europe, with political impetus accelerating investment. S&P Global Ratings also expects gradual growth in European middle-market collateralized loan obligations.
S&P Global Ratings expects the European trailing-12-month speculative-grade corporate default rate to reach 3.25% by June 2026, down year over year from 3.9%, driven by lower interest rates and better economic growth. However, the amount of debt at risk has grown significantly following recent downgrades into the CCC category, including some large issuers that dramatically increased the size of vulnerable debt.
In case you missed it
- Leveraged loans are increasingly prominent in the high-yield landscape, with data from S&P Dow Jones Indices showing that the US leveraged loan market has grown to $1.5 trillion from about $400 million over the last decade.
- The Asian seaborne metallurgical coal market anticipates firm prices in the fourth quarter, supported by the expected recovery in Indian demand following the monsoon season and sustained interest from China.
- Vietnam's rice exports are heavily tied to demand from the Philippines, its largest buyer. As Manila's import restrictions tighten, Vietnam's exporters face uncertainty in one of their biggest markets.
Upcoming events
- Tariffs on Trade: How it’s impacting economies and sectors | October 29 (Webinar)
- Q3 GenAI Funding: Record volumes continue as Agentic AI takes center stage | October 29 (Webinar)
- CERAWeek 2026 | March 23–27, 2026 (Houston)