Featured Data Additions: 2026

EMERGEPR → South Korea → Financial → Money, Banking and Credit → Substandard or Below Loans

Substandard or below (SBL) bank loan detail for South Korea was added to the EMERGEPR database. SBL totals, resolved SBL, and SBL ratios by sector are available on this table. Quarterly data are sourced from the Financial Supervisory Service and begin in Q1 2008.

Chart: SBLs in Korea recorded their highest levels since Q2 2019. Some 5.5 tril won in loans were newly classified as soured in Q1, down 400 bil from Q4. Banks wrote off 4.4 tril worth of bad loans, down 1.3 tril. Business loan SBL ratios registered 0.74%, up 0.04 ppt. HH loan SBL ratio came in at 0.32%, also up 0.01 ppt. Despite an increase in absolute terms, the overall SBL ratio remains relatively stable at 0.6%, safely kept in check by bank write-offs and aggressive settlements.

UKR → Bermuda → National Accounts → GDP by Expenditure

GDP by expenditure for Bermuda was added to UKR, as we continue to add content for this British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic. Some detail for consumption, gross capital formation and foreign trade is available in current and constant dollars. Quarterly data are sourced from the Government of Bermuda and start in Q1 2014.

Chart: Of interest regarding Bermuda’s GDP is its claim to one of the highest GDP per capita metrics in the world – currently registering at over $137k per resident. Only Monaco, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg can boast higher. Bermuda's exceptionally high rank is driven by its status as a premier offshore financial hub - and because it has virtually no corporate or personal income tax, it attracts thousands of international companies that generate enormous economic output on paper combined with a relatively small population of ~64,000.

EMERGEPR → South Korea → Financial → Money, Banking and Credit → Delinquency Rates on Bank Loans

Delinquency rates on bank loans for South Korea were added to EMERGEPR. More than 1-day and more than 30-day rates for enterprises, households and credit cards are available for commercial and specialized banks. Monthly and annual data are sourced from the Korea Federation of Banks and start as early as 1998.

Chart: Corporate loan delinquency rates in South Korea are rising faster than household delinquencies. Corporate delinquency rates reached 0.8% at the end of March compared to 0.4% for households – a spread that has been widening since mid-2023. Despite worsening economic conditions, financial authorities have been pressuring banks to expand corporate lending to stimulate business investment. Conversely, strict loan restrictions and debt service ratio rules on household mortgages have been keeping household delinquencies more stable.

USECON → Business Cycle Indicators and Surveys → Supply Chain Bottleneck Sentiment

The Supply Chain Bottleneck (SCB) Sentiment index was added to USECON. This index utilizes unsupervised machine learning and natural language processing techniques to identify words related to supply chain bottlenecks in the Federal Reserve's Beige Book and uses deep learning to account for the sentiment of the identified supply chain text. Monthly data are sourced from the FRB and start in May 1970.

Chart: Supply chains were stressed after the 1973 OPEC embargo and the 1979 increases in oil prices resulting from the Iranian Revolution. More recently, bottlenecks arose during the COVID-19 pandemic due to global factory slowdowns, shifts in consumer demand and severe labor shortages. The index suggests that the bottlenecks arising from the pandemic started declining in the latter half of 2021. This is in line with other measures of supply chain bottlenecks, such as the ISM supplier delivery times and order backlogs indexes.

EMERGELA → Mexico → International Trade and Balance of Payments → Trade in Goods by Mode of Transportation

Trade in goods by mode of transportation for Mexico was added to the EMERGELA database. A trade balance, exports and imports are available by mode of transportation such as by air, road, rail and sea. Monthly data are sourced from INEGI and start in January 2007.

Chart: Trucks remain the undisputed primary mode for Mexican exports, accounting for up to 70% of exports by value moving across its borders. The surge in just-in-time manufacturing, particularly automotive parts and electronics (like computers and semiconductors), heavily relies on the flexibility, speed, and point-to-point delivery of trucks. Sea freight, which accounts for roughly 15%, is mainly utilized for bulk commodities (such as crude oil and agricultural goods) as well as transcontinental exports.

UMSCA → Summary Consumer Sentiment Indexes → The Index of Consumer Sentiment by Tercile of Stock Wealth

Indexes categorized by stock ownership were added to the UMSCA database, where the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers detail is housed. Indexes include consumer sentiment, current economic conditions, and consumer expectations. For each, series are available for the top third, middle third, and bottom third terciles of stock ownership, and also series for no stock holdings. Monthly data start in November 1998.

Chart: Plotted are the sums of each ownership category for the three indexes along with the S&P 500. The optimism spread between the largest stock owners and people with lesser portfolios is currently at one of its widest points dating back to 1998. In fact, optimism for the bottom three ownership categories are currently at all-time lows. Not so coincidentally, the S&P 500 is hitting all-time highs, indicating that rising stock markets benefit consumers with the largest stock portfolios but leave behind consumers with smaller portfolios.

GLSECTOR → Competitiveness Measures → Bellwether Company Statistics → Meta Platforms, Inc

Financial statistics for Meta Platforms Inc. were added to the GLSECTOR database. Meta is the conglomerate that owns Facebook, IG, WhatsApp and Threads and is also one of the main players in recent AI infrastructure investment. Available series include revenue, costs, income and capital expenditure. Quarterly data are sourced from Meta Platforms SEC filings and start in Q1 2012.

Chart: The race to build AI infrastructure has escalated into one of the largest capex surges in history, with tech giants (Meta, Oracle, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft) investing heavily to build and secure infrastructure for Generative AI. This massive spending is driven by the urgent need for data center capacity, advanced AI-optimized chips, and energy infrastructure to handle surging demand. As a whole, these 5 companies have spent almost $1.5 trillion since Q1 2021 and in Q1 2026, capex totaled $179 billion, an increase of 96% YoY.

EMERGEMA → Ghana → National Accounts → Monthly Indicator of Economic Growth (MIEG)

The Monthly Indicator of Economic Growth (MIEG) for Ghana was added to EMERGEMA. The MIEG is an economic statistic designed to provide early monthly signals on the direction of the economy ahead of the full quarterly GDP release. Indexes and YoY growth rates are available for the total economy and its three major sectors – agriculture, industry and services. Monthly data are sourced from the Ghana Statistical Service and start in January 2023.

Chart: The economy expanded by 7.5% in January 2026 compared to the 8.2% recorded in January 2025. The data also show that all three major sectors of the economy recorded positive growth, pointing to continued broad-based economic momentum. The services sector was the standout performer recording growth of 9.6%, followed by industry at 7.2% and agriculture at 4.5%. These results suggest that Q1 GDP is likely to record moderate but steady growth, supported mainly by the services sector.