Bahrain, Qatar and Oman’s sovereign ratings would be the most vulnerable to a protracted and wider conflict in the Gulf region following the killing of Iran’s top military commander Qassem Soleimani, S&P Global said on Monday. If tensions continued to escalate, the fiscal boost that could come from higher oil prices would likely be offset by capital outflows and weaker economic growth, a group of S&P’s analysts said in a report. “We view Bahrain and Qatar as more vulnerable to outflows given their high external financing needs, relating to their respective banking sectors,” they said. “Oman’s reliance on external ... (full story)