Earlier today we highlighted the current default risk for 39 countries. Below we highlight default risk for four US states that have seen their credit default swaps spike at some point or another over the last few years -- California, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois.
As shown, default risk has dropped for all four states in recent weeks, but their CDS prices are still elevated from lows seen in mid-2011. Illinois is the most risky of the bunch at 230 bps, which puts it at the same risk level as Poland. California is the second most risky at 187 bps, which is in between Israel and Belgium. New Jersey is at the same risk level as Brazil (139 bps), while New York is in between Colombia and Mexico at 131.
