News of economy

Bloomberg

Argentina prices may drop fast, says man who couldn't tame them

Yesterday 13:35 Federico Sturzenegger, former president of the Central Bank of Argentina, said in his first interview since leaving office that Argentina could reach a monthly inflation rate of around one percent by the end of the year.

Nationwide power outage

Macri gov't officials left scratching heads after historic blackout

17-06-2019 09:42 Energy Secretary Gusavo Lopetegui: 'We still have no information about what happened'.

TRAVEL & TOURISM

The government gives low-cost carriers some air

15-06-2019 08:07 Differential pricing and changes in flight frequency hit Aerolíneas Argentinas and Latam above all, while favouring Flybondi and JetSmart. Benefits for Avianca too.

by Manuel Nieto

BLOOMBERG

Chile’s Central Bank on its surprise cut: 'You had been warned'

10-06-2019 14:20 Chile’s Central Bank cut rates last week, seeking to shore up their economies against a worsening US-China trade war.

ELECTIONS 2019: CAMPAIGN WATCH

Can Macri deliver a stable currency through to the elections?

08-06-2019 09:49 In the Casa Rosada they know that economic recessions can be cause for any incumbent to fail to win re-election, anywhere in the world. They are even more certain that currency instability can instantly kill prospects for any politician in Argentina.

by Marcelo J. Garcia

IMF BAILOUT

IMF chief: 'We underestimated Argentina's complicated economic situation'

06-06-2019 09:42 Managing Director Christine Lagarde admits inflation is taking "longer than expected" to fall.

ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

Business groups: 50 Argentine firms closing a day as a result of crisis

04-06-2019 18:05 Business chambers criticise government's 'anti-industrial economic model,' demand effort to 'reconstruct' productive industries.

BLOOMBERG

Investors seek relief as trade threats rock emerging markets

04-06-2019 13:37 The first major signs that Argentina is recovering from a recession may appear in construction and industrial activity data for April on Wednesday. But amid rising global risks, such as Brazil’s slowdown, the numbers could instead confirm fears of a delayed or weak recovery.

BLOOMBERG

Alberto Fernández tells markets he won't lead Argentina into default

04-06-2019 12:58 Seeking to reassure investors, presidential hopeful tells reporters he won’t lead the country into default if he wins the presidential election in October.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Brazil faces recession risk after economy shrinks in first quarter

31-05-2019 07:39 Latin America's biggest economy on brink of recession once again, new data confirms.

POVERTY & INEQUALITY

Brazil's poor are squeezed as inequality grows

28-05-2019 13:50 Study released this month by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation found that the key measure of income inequality has reached its highest level since the series began seven years ago, with Brazil among the most unequal nations in a broader region where the gap between rich and poor is notorious.

Bloomberg

Lost decade spectre haunts Latin America as big economies falter

28-05-2019 10:42 Latin America – hit by simultaneous contractions in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico – has expanded only 0.7% a year on average during the past few years – barely enough to keep up with population growth.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

INDEC: Economic activity fell 6.8% in March year-on-year

24-05-2019 15:44 Eleventh consecutive month of decline registered, with economy activity falling 1.3% on February.

PERMITS AWARDED

Government awards 18 permits for gas and oil exploration off southern coast

22-05-2019 16:32 The permits, announced by the Economy Ministry, centre on three regions on Argentina's continental shelf and run up to 13 years. Companies commit investment totalling US$724 million.

IMMIGRATION

Latin America, Caribbean no longer leading sources of emigration

25-01-2019 18:47 Argentina was the top destination for migrants moving within Latin America

BREXIT TURMOIL

British PM faces leadership challenge over Brexit

17-11-2018 09:44 Theresa May wins support for her beleaguered Brexit deal from key politicians and business groups, but she remains besieged by opponents inside her own party, who are determined to oust her.

G20 LEADERS IN BUENOS AIRES

Macri’s got a lot to lose from the G20 summitG20 LEADERS IN BUENOS AIRES

17-11-2018 09:34 On the face of it, Argentina’s president has a lot more to lose as he hosts the likes of Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, with the domestic economy in the midst of a painful economic crisis and the global agenda more focused on how to deal with protectionism.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

Sharpest monthly drop in industrial activity since 2002 prompts concern

10-11-2018 10:34 INDEC registers ‘unexpected’ 11.5% contraction for September – the biggest fall seen in 16 years. Experts, who were expecting a single-digit decline, express concerns.

by Fermin Koop

ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENTS

Agri-business boom lifts economy, amid tax ire

03-11-2018 07:40 After the drought that devastated last year’s harvest, sector is bouncing back with what analysts believe will be a record yield.

ECONOMIC QUESTIONS

Home, home on the range

20-10-2018 10:45 The government’s rent bill is a tricky issue ... it is not the demagogic wishful thinking of populism but rationally drafted legislation seeking to balance the various interests.

by Michael Soltys

UTILITIES AND TARIFFS

Government U-turns on gas tariff decision

13-10-2018 10:19 Survey: 75% of residents in metropolitan area of Buenos Aires consider gas prices "unpayable".

BILATERAL RELATIONS

Government banks on improved ties with Qatar to boost Vaca Muerta

13-10-2018 10:11 Amidst political turmoil in the Gulf region and a recession in Argentina, bilateral relations between Doha and Buenos Aires are booming, with trade soaring 16 percent last year.

by Giulia Petroni

ECONOMIC QUESTIONS

Leliq-land, the Oscar that never was

13-10-2018 08:42 The unforced error with the gas surcharge is but the latest episode in a continuing process of trying to come to grips with this problem, unsuccessfully until now.

by Michael Soltys

BRAZILIAN ELECTION: OCTOBER 7

Question marks for local economy as Brazil goes to the ballot box

29-09-2018 08:50 Political direction of giant neighbour remains unsure ahead of next Sunday’s vote, but experts believe trade deficit will likely improve.

by Fermin Koop

AS I SEE IT

Dreaming of a quick fix

15-09-2018 12:48 If Cristina’s cronies really did bury containers stuffed with paper money in remote Patagonian farmsteads, they will have been full of dollars, euros, Swiss francs, pounds sterling, yuans and yens, not pesos.

ECONOMIC QUESTIONS

Heralding the budget

15-09-2018 10:58 Nor are the provinces being asked for too much sacrifice from this comfortable position – only a quarter of the 400 billion pesos is being required from their side and almost half of that will fall on Buenos Aires province in the form of subsidy transfers.

by Michael Soltys

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

'Export duties will help balance the fiscal situation'

08-09-2018 09:42 Rodrigo Álvarez, CEO of the Analytica consultancy firm, on the crisis and what lies ahead for the economy in 2019.

by Fermin Koop

currency volatility

Macri: ‘Dollar has calmed down’

18-08-2018 09:53 The dollar soared 63 pesocents this week to 30.42 pesos, the Central Bank reported.

AS IMF VISITS

Soy exporters suffer brunt of US$2.25b austerity package

18-08-2018 09:51 The government hopes to save 65.5 billion pesos in the next 16 months by freezing planned tax cuts on soy byproducts for six months and winding back export duty rebates.

MINERAL BOOM

Argentina eyes off lithium growth despite concerns

18-08-2018 09:34 The country is seeking to become a leading exporter in a sector on the rise but environmental groups warn of dangers.

by BY FERMIN KOOP

ECONOMIC QUESTIONS

Talking Turkey

18-08-2018 09:02 Macri's administration took a step back this week with Tuesday’s announcement of the suspension of phased reduction of soy byproduct export duties.

by Michael Soltys

ECONOMIC QUESTIONS

Corruption, he wrote

11-08-2018 13:05 Inflation is such an acute everyday aggravation that it becomes all too easy to forget that devaluation might well be twice as fast – around 70 percent by the end of the year according to various estimates.

by Michael Soltys

DEVALUATION CRISIS

Numbers of Argentines travelling abroad declines after devaluation

11-08-2018 12:57 A 2.6% decline was registered in June compared to the same month last year.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Recession looms as INDEC registers sharp fall in economic activity

28-07-2018 09:54 Economic activity in May contracted 5.8% year-on-year, led by 35% drop in farming activity.

FINANCIAL MARKETS

Investors split on opportunities amid market turbulence

14-07-2018 09:24 While the dramatic ups and downs in Argentina’s turbulent economy have caused many investors to think twice before investing in local assets, others believe this is a perfect time to look again.

THE IMF and GRADUALISM

Small businesses feel pinch as consumers tighten belts

07-07-2018 10:33 According to the Argentina Confederation of Medium-sized Enterprises, retail sales fell 2.5 percent in the first five months of 2018.

ECONOMIC QUESTIONS

Russian roulette

30-06-2018 12:56 The dice remain loaded in Macri’s favour – a better harvest next year plus an electioneering splurge on the public works postponed under the recent austerity might well make the approaching recession relatively short-lived.

by Michael Soltys

ON CRISES

A good old fashioned financial crisis, in Manaus

23-06-2018 13:43 The end of the Brazilian rubber boom, and the beginning of the financial crisis, was not a product of the theft of seeds but a result of greed, which is the usual way these crises happen as well we know in Argentina.

by Andrew Graham-Yooll

ARGENTINA'S ECONOMY

Government, businesses hail MSCI emerging market reclassification

23-06-2018 13:38 Ministers hail ‘important’ decision, predict greater investment.

ECONOMIC QUESTIONS

Midwinter or a new dawn?

23-06-2018 08:52 Flag Day itself certainly did the nation proud with Argentina’s re-admission to emerging market status for the first time since 2009 – as I’ve said before, you cannot subject G20 heavyweights to the indignity of being chaired by a frontier market and nor do frontier markets easily gain admission to the OECD.

by Michael Soltys

ECONOMIC QUESTIONS

VAR for the IMF?

16-06-2018 12:36 The overwhelming dominance of consumer-led growth models over several decades needs to be modified with a sustained period of export-led growth in order to create a more balanced, productive and competitive economy.

by Michael Soltys

ALL CHANGE AT CENTRAL BANK

Government seeks to reassure markets after peso crisis

16-06-2018 12:07 Luis Caputo appointed new chief of Central Bank after week in which peso plunged against the dollar.

IMF DEAL

Government, IMF bet big with US$50B loan

09-06-2018 12:13 Officials say targets in package could be revised for increased social spending, as talks with unions progress.

THE NEED FOR RADICAL PARADIGM SHIFT

Cambiemos must change

09-06-2018 09:05 The house of cards begun to fall apart toward the end of 2017, damaging Cambiemos’ relationships with its circumstantial allies, and severely wounding the Central Bank’s credibility.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

INTERVIEW WITH JOSE LUIS ESPERT

‘More than naive, I think the government was completely irresponsible.’

02-06-2018 11:05 Influential economist offers his view on the Mauricio Macri administration’s economic policies, the tax burden and the role of the provinces.

by Francisco Aldaya

Political hypocrisy

Austerity can’t be Macri’s only solution

02-06-2018 09:00 It was pathetic to hear former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner listing the economic successes of her administration, and Pichetto —traditionally centered and pragmatic — showing his true colours, taking advantage of the spotlight for electoral gain.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Highlights

May 28th - Jun 3rd: Economy in brief

02-06-2018 08:17 Top stories of the week regarding the economy.

INVESTMENT

Coca-Cola Co ups planned investments in Argentina

30-05-2018 15:58 Firm backs President Macri and hails "momentous moment for country" as it announces it will invest US$1.2 billion over next three years.

AS I SEE IT

Waiting for the end

19-05-2018 19:04 For much of the last fortnight, it seemed that the day of reckoning was already upon us, but then the government, backed at least verbally by the IMF’s Christine Lagarde, Donald Trump and other dignitaries, was given a breathing space.

by James Neilson

9.6% so far this year

Gov’t inflation target slips away as INDEC reports 2.7% in April

16-05-2018 10:14 In light of its ongoing roll-back of utilities and public transport subsidies, the government long ago conceded that inflation would be higher in the first part of the year while insisting it would start to drop from May.