News of debt crisis

Bondholders: ‘Argentina desperately needs agreement with the IMF’

20-02-2021 08:18 Private bondholders group, who previously agreed to restructuring, accuse government of dragging its feet in talks with IMF to “continue its unsustainable policies even longer."

ECONOMIC PLANS

Guzmán: ‘Austerity is not the way to go’

13-02-2021 09:01 At a talk hosted by Brown University, Argentina’s economy minister says the nation has a “thin corridor through which the economy has to transit,” as speculation grows over debt talks with the International Monetary Fund.

by Jonah Shrock

EDITORIAL

Not so much how to win as when?

06-02-2021 10:32 The current combination of capital controls, price freezes, overpriced bonds, etc. might suffice for the next eight months without bursting, but not for a further two years.

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Alberto Fernández and Vladimir Putin share call

06-02-2021 10:16 President Alberto Fernández spoke Tuesday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, with the latter saying that production of the Sputnik V vaccine had been stepped up in order to meet Argentina’s requirements.

ECONOMIC FORECAST

IMF cuts Argentina’s 2021 growth estimate to 4.5%

30-01-2021 08:16 Fund predicts strong economic rebound across the globe, but trims forecast for local economy by 0.4%.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Pandemic costs sent primary fiscal gap to 6.5% of GDP

23-01-2021 09:59 Fiscal deficit skyrocketed last year to highest since 1993, as the pandemic forced increase in social spending.

UNITED STATES

Biden’s three priorities for South America

23-01-2021 08:39 Newly inaugurated US president’s foreign policy will have three main fronts in South America: environmental protection, the crisis in Venezuela and countering the growing influence of China. Negotiations with the International Monetary Fund will be the first bilateral test for Alberto Fernández.

by Leandro Dario

BILATERAL RELATIONS

Don’t expect ‘carnal relations’ between Alberto and Joe Biden

23-01-2021 08:31 One actor could tilt the scales, though: Pope Francis. Biden is the second Catholic president of the US, preceded by John F. Kennedy. How much will the Peronist leader of the Holy See nudge Biden our way?

by Agustino Fontevecchia

2020: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

2020: The year that was

02-01-2021 09:27 Economic crisis, rising poverty and unemployment, debt talks, creditors, the IMF, wealth tax, squatters, a police mutiny, the failed appropriation of Vicentin, alleged AFI espionage, ‘lawfare,’ corruption, legalised abortion, diplomacy, disappearances, the death of Diego Maradona… a lot happened in Argentina over the past 12 months, but it was all overshadowed by Covid-19.

by Michael Soltys

EDITORIAL

Good riddance to 2020… ...and hello to a happier 2021?

02-01-2021 08:34 At a stretch 2020 could almost be summarised by one single C-word – next year is a little more difficult, but the midterm elections will undoubtedly be a defining moment.

THE WEEK

What we learned this week: December 19 to 26

26-12-2020 10:49 A collection of the stories that caught our eye this week in Argentina.

by Michael Soltys

MARTÍN GUZMÁN

Should he stay or should he go?

19-12-2020 08:31 The series of reversals of Martín Guzmán’s 2021 policies sends a clear message: austerity will not be tolerated, much less so in an electoral year.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

BLOOMBERG

Lengthy Covid lay-off ban backfires, postponing job crisis

12-12-2020 08:53 Companies have been banned from firing workers since March, with the prohibition was recently extended into 2021. But many firms have resorted to suspensions, effectively postponing future job cuts.

EDITORIAL

November’s sky is chill and drear

21-11-2020 10:51 With the government falling into line with the quarantine fatigue felt by much of the nation, a vacuum has opened up in the public agenda. There was already plenty of jostling last week to fill it – from both wings of the coalition government.

‘WEALTH TAX’ BILL

‘Wealth tax’ could hit as three times more people than anticipated

21-11-2020 10:06 Tax expert warns bill to impose one-off levy on assets of rich could eventually hit as many as 30,000 people, depending on exchange rate at time it becomes law.

by Fernando Nolé

RECKLESSNESS

Cristina, Macri and Alberto - all of them took on debt

21-11-2020 08:38 Everyone loves to play the blame game, but let’s get one thing straight for the record: former presidents Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Mauricio Macri both took on debt – and so has Alberto Fernández.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

BLOOMBERG

Creditors blast Argentina for post-restructuring bond blow-up

22-10-2020 22:22 Argentina Exchange Bondholders group and the Argentina Creditor Committee rip government for mismanaging the economy, saying country is headed for disaster just seven weeks after restructuring US$65 billion in debt.

56th IDEA colloquium

Fernández rules out devaluation, bank-deposit freeze at IDEA

17-10-2020 10:13 Peronist leader sticks to his guns over government policies, telling business leaders that his government is “convinced that this is the path.”

IMF TALKS

Fernández, Georgieva ‘confident’ Argentina will seal new IMF deal

10-10-2020 10:01 Officials on both sides say all the right things as first visit of IMF mission team passes off without incident. Kristalina Georgieva says Fund has "no intention of putting pressure on Argentina at this time."

EDITORIAL

Uncertainty amid the malaise

10-10-2020 09:41 Burning as all these problems are, literally so in the case of the fires and metaphorically in the case of the economic and monetary crisis and the coronavirus pandemic, none of them are really being faced by a government seeking or obsessed with another agenda.

THE WEEK

What we learned this week: September 26 to October 3

03-10-2020 09:40 The pick of stories that caught our eye over the last seven days.

DEBT DEAL DONE

Creditors overwhelmingly back government’s debt restructuring offer

05-09-2020 10:24 Argentina wins "massive" bondholder support to restructure overseas debt, exchanging 99% of debt held under international law.

AS I SEE IT

Down with development

05-09-2020 09:39 Alberto and the people surrounding him are determined to solve the country’s socioeconomic problems by levelling down, taking as much as they can from the more productive parts of society and giving it to the millions who rely on handouts.

by James Neilson

POLITICS & THE PANDEMIC

Protest or PRO test?

22-08-2020 10:10 The uproar surrounding the court system reform is another test of the national government's resolve.

by Martín Gambarotta

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Creditors reiterate support for debt swap

22-08-2020 10:05 Ad Hoc Group of Argentina Exchange Bondholders says members will be entering Argentina’s debt swap proposal to the tune of almost US$5 billion on Monday.

SINO-ARGENTINE RELATIONS

Argentina’s ties with China deepen under Fernández

22-08-2020 08:27 Peronist leader leads charge to develop ties with Asian giant, which is now Argentina’s largest trading partner. Trip to Shanghai pencilled in for early November, with business, the pandemic and pork topping the agenda.

by Juan Luis González

EDITORIAL

A crisis of diagnosis

15-08-2020 11:10 Opposition to judicial reform is not enough – it must be accompanied by calls for state reform.

IMF CREDIT-LINE

IMF: Argentina has not yet requested new financing programme

15-08-2020 11:00 President Fernández says in interview that he will not allow Fund to impose austerity measures as part of a new financing programme.

INTERVIEW / PERIODISMO PURO

Ricardo López Murphy: ‘Fernández inherited a much better situation than Macri did’

15-08-2020 09:49 Veteran politician, former economy and defence minister and 2003 presidential candidate Ricardo López Murphy on reform, inheritance, the deficit and why the coronavirus pandemic will produce the most severe recession in economic history.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

POLITICS & THE PANDEMIC

Vaccine ventures

15-08-2020 09:44 It's difficult to gain any kind of momentum during a pandemic. Yet there are some signs the government is regaining the initiative.

by Martín Gambarotta

TIMELINE

How Argentina and its creditors reached a deal

08-08-2020 09:43 Agreement with bondholders brings months of negotiations to an end. Here’s how we got here.

LAST SEVEN DAYS

What we learned this week: August 1 to August 8

08-08-2020 09:31 Stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina

EDITORIAL

Debt deal – more relief than belief

08-08-2020 09:22 The quality of this haircut falling on interest rates way above recent levels rather than capital deserves praise, as does abandonment of the absurd three-year grace period exempting this administration from any payment.

DEBT, DEFAULT. DEAL

Goodbye default my old friend

08-08-2020 08:44 The ultimate question is if this agreement will spare Argentina the ordeal of holdout bondholders – Guzmán will have conjured a miracle if there are none to worry about once this deal is done.

by Martín Gambarotta

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Guzmán hints at deadline extension for debt talks with creditors

01-08-2020 09:42 Economy minister says government is “assessing all options,” with talks at an impasse as August 4 deadline nears.

WEEKLY ROUND-UP

What we learned this week: July 25 to August 1

01-08-2020 09:18 The most important stories that caught our eye in the last seven days.

AS I SEE IT

Alberto, Cristina and a sinking economy

25-07-2020 09:45 Macri’s experience suggests that Alberto’s chances of convincing the moneymen that it would be in their interest to lend Argentina a hand right now are close to zero.

by James Neilson

DEBT RESTRUCTURING TALKS

Markets rally on hopes debt talks are ‘too close to fail’

25-07-2020 09:32 Three largest creditor groups join forces in negotiations, rejecting government's "final" offer and submitting their own counter proposal.

PROFILE

Guzmán takes on Wall Street

25-07-2020 08:01 Argentina’s Stiglitz-groomed debt chief has taken on a task many would have turned down. And as talks with bondholders enter a crucial stage, the stakes are higher than ever.

POLITICS & THE PANDEMIC

Coalitions under stress

18-07-2020 08:37 Political rivals are accusing each other of being “haters” – but of course, one person's hater is another person's hero. The pressure, however, is not just external.

by Martín Gambarotta

PERIODISMO PURO / INTERVIEW

Hernán Lacunza: ‘We can’t reset the economy every four years, as we’ve been doing since 1945’

18-07-2020 08:30 Former finance minister Hernán Lacunza on Argentina’s debt restructuring efforts, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, inflation and more.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

BEEF INDUSTRY

Beef industry surmounts coronavirus-led disruption of trade

20-06-2020 11:01 Exports overall dropped in the first third of 2020, but overseas beef sales rose more than 10% in the same period, when compared to the previous year.

POLITICS & THE PANDEMIC

Lockdown limbo

06-06-2020 09:32 Coronavirus has put everyday life, or the remnants of it, in a loop. Home is where the office lies.

by Martín Gambarotta

AGRICULTURE

Soy farmers bet against peso just as government needs cash

23-05-2020 09:55 Farmer sales have slowed to a crawl because growers think the currency is overvalued. That’s unnerving buyers and the government, which will have to wait for crucial export money.

EDITORIAL

Debt, default, devil, detail

23-05-2020 09:39 It is still well worth asking why it has come to this. The government’s debt strategy of pressing for a settlement in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic baffles any conventional wisdom.

The virus

Coronavirus exhaustion

16-05-2020 07:37 The pesos being injected into the system – an emergency tool that few have questioned domestically and abroad – haven’t purely been used to finance direct consumption of basic goods and services such as food, or absorbed into peso-denominated assets. As is the norm in Argentina, they have found their way into US dollars.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

BLOOMBERG

YPF shifts focus to strengthening finances as debt payments loom

13-05-2020 14:52 State oil and gas company's new CEO tells investors that company will go "back to basics" and cut costs to combat the current crisis.

Crisis and opportunity

A quick global rebound after the global pandemic?

02-05-2020 09:29 Whether we figure it out or not, the global society has the tools to quickly reverse the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

WORLD

Martin Wolf: ‘This is potentially a hinge moment in history’

02-05-2020 08:25 Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator for the Financial Times, discusses the economic fall-out from the coronavirus pandemic, in an exclusive interview with Perfil’s Jorge Fontevecchia.

by Jorge Fontevecchia