Poverty UN: Pandemic pushed LatAm extreme poverty to 20-year high Today 13:41 Number of poor people in the region rose by 22 million in 2020 to 209 million. ECLAC calls for "new welfare state."
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Brazil ends new 'lost decade' with GDP drop of 4.1% in 2020 Yesterdat 10:26 The economy of Argentina's giant neighbour registered a 4.1% contraction in 2020, according to official data.
WEEKLY ROUND-UP What we learn this week: February 20-27 27-02-2021 08:53 Our pick of the stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.
SEARCH FOR A DIGITAL MANIFESTO News in the age of the Internet 27-02-2021 07:51 At stake is the health of our information ecosystem, and therefore the robustness of democracy. This is the time for everyone with a vested interest in a strong field of journalistic production to act. by Agustino Fontevecchia
IMF DEBT RESTRUCTURING Government considers using new IMF reserves for loan payment 26-02-2021 16:58 Argentina is considering using new reserves to be issued by the International Monetary Fund to make a payment due to the lender in September, according to a person with direct knowledge.
IMF DEBT TALKS IMF: Argentine team expected to hold loan talks in mid-March 25-02-2021 18:22 Economy Minister Martín Guzmán will visit Washington in mid-March, confirms IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS INDEC estimates economy contracted 10% in 2020 25-02-2021 17:35 Bureau’s Monthly Estimator of Economic Activity (EMAE), published Wednesday, revealed the economy fell by 2.2% in December.
Global pandemic Vaccine delays threaten economies hardest hit by pandemic 23-02-2021 12:24 Latin America and the Caribbean, the region where the coronavirus caused the worst economic destruction and more than a quarter of the world’s deaths, is now falling victim to a slow inoculation campaign.
BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS Bolsonaro calls for more changes after general goes to Petrobras 21-02-2021 08:25 Brazil leader says that more changes are underway after naming a former general to head Petrobras. Experts say Bolsonaro has chosen "economic populism."
BRAZIL UNDER BOLSONARO Bolsonaro appoints Army reserve general to head Petrobras 21-02-2021 08:12 Brazil's far-right president appoints Army reserve general Joaquim Silva e Luna to lead state-owned energy giant Petrobras, after criticising several successive increases in the price of fuel.
THE WEEK What we learned this week: February 13 to 20 20-02-2021 08:27 The stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.
DEBT RESTRUCTURING 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."
CARLOS MENEM (1930-2021) The first post-modern president 20-02-2021 07:56 Menem was the emblem of Argentina’s eternal aspiration to be a First World cosmopolitan society. by Gustavo González
CARLOS MENEM (1930-2021) Choose your own Menem 20-02-2021 07:46 As from Menem, public officials who got rich on the job began to be the rule rather than the exception. by Javier Calvo
AND THAT REMINDS ME... Charlie was my darling 20-02-2021 07:40 A selection of purely personal memories and perceptions of Carlos Menem, including some that differ from conventional wisdom. by Michael Soltys
AS I SEE IT A most unlikely reformer 20-02-2021 07:31 Carlos Menem may have been the king of kitsch, but he was also something else. by James Neilson
APPS & WORK UK top court shakes up gig economy with ruling against Uber 19-02-2021 14:19 UK's Supreme Court rules Uber drivers are entitled to breaks, holiday pay and minimum wage, in what has been described as "another nail in the coffin" for the gig economy.
BLOOMBERG Banco Galicia CEO: Inflation will keep battering banking returns 19-02-2021 12:42 Argentine banks took a beating last year, and the nation’s biggest lender says the industry is at risk of a repeat performance.
OBITUARY Menem, ex-president who led Argentina for 10 years, dies at 90 14-02-2021 13:17 Former president, whose economic policies quashed hyperinflation during the 1990s but sowed the seeds for what became the largest debt default in history, has died. He was 90.
EDITORIAL Dilemmas and defining factors 13-02-2021 10:36 Two entirely different news items at opposite ends of the past week might well be the shape of defining factors in this year’s elections.
AND THAT REMINDS ME Suicide pacts are also consensus 13-02-2021 09:14 Consensus might sometimes push the right buttons but there is no guarantee and it is not a virtue in itself. by Michael Soltys
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
AS I SEE IT Here we go again 13-02-2021 08:47 Meaningful reform will remain on the backburner until the votes have been counted. by James Neilson
ARGENTINE AMAUTERISM Guzmán’s first mistake 13-02-2021 08:40 The economy minister’s appeal stems from a technocratic approach to the field of public economics, coupled with a soft but convincing, almost stubborn, conviction in his plan. by Agustino Fontevecchia
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Inflation continues to rise: Prices were up 4% in January 12-02-2021 01:00 INDEC national statistics bureau says prices rose by 4% in January, equal to December's rate.
Coronavirus Pandemic Pandemic has hit LatAm women's employment hard, says report 11-02-2021 16:43 According to a UN report published on Wednesday, the pandemic could set women back ten years in terms of employment rate.
BLOOMBERG IMF warns surging virus threatens to curb Latin America rebound 08-02-2021 22:16 Latin America’s economic recovery faces risks from failure to stop the spread of the coronavirus and the need for new lockdown measures, says the IMF.
IMF DEBT TALKS IMF official: Argentina deal by May is an ambitious timeline 08-02-2021 22:11 IMF Western Hemisphere Director Alejandro Werner says May target for new financing programme is "clearly ambitious," though not "unviable."
Lava Jato Brazil's watershed 'Lava Jato' graft probe ends with a whimper 08-02-2021 15:20 One of the biggest corruption investigations in history wraps up after falling into scandal itself.
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.
AS I SEE IT Weighed down by an entitlement culture 06-02-2021 09:50 Will Argentina be able to prosper in the brave new world that is coming our way? Not unless she manages to change lanes in the near future. As things stand, this is most unlikely to happen. by James Neilson
GLOBAL PANDEMIC UK faces up to painful lessons after 100,000 Covid deaths 30-01-2021 09:20 Britain this week became the first European country to pass 100,000 Covid deaths, in a grim milestone nearly one year since its first case of the disease.
UNITED STATES Biden talks the talk – but can he deliver? 30-01-2021 09:10 What will happen when US president’s slickly run messaging operation hits harsh reality?
PRAISE AT DAVOS Oxfam hails Argentina’s ‘wealth tax’ as law takes effect 30-01-2021 08:21 Charity calls on other nation states to raise taxes on their richest citizens, citing government’s new law as an example.
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%.
EDITORIAL Vaccination versus immunity to change 30-01-2021 08:04 The error-strewn launch of vaccination campaigns marks a new phase in the pandemic and with it some subtle changes in perspective.
INTERVIEW: PERIODISMO PURO Marcela Losardo: 'Alberto Fernández has been preparing all his life for this job' 30-01-2021 07:46 Throughout the last 40 years, nobody has spent more time close to the president than his Justice Minister Marcela Losardo, his chief confidante. by Jorge Fontevecchia
'Wealth tax' Government's 'wealth tax' levy for virus relief takes effect 29-01-2021 15:27 One-off tax on Argentina's richest citizens to help pay for medical supplies and relief for small businesses battered by the global coronavirus pandemic entered into force on Friday.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Trade volume fell 14.9% in 2020, but with US$12.5B surplus 28-01-2021 16:43 Trade volume last year totalled US$97.24 billion, 14.9% down from the previous year, but with surplus of US$12.528 billion.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Argentina posts first trade deficit since 2018 after port strike 27-01-2021 11:08 Country recorded a trade deficit of US$364 million in December, government data published Tuesday showed. While imports grew 25% in annual terms driven by an economic recovery, exports slumped by 34%.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Economic activity fell 3.7% in November year-on-year 27-01-2021 10:35 INDEC says activity contracted by 10.6% in first 11 months of 2020, but registered a 1.4 percent rise in November from previous month.
AND THAT REMINDS ME... Your petrol frizzled 23-01-2021 10:19 If Vaca Muerta is indeed a dead cow, then Argentina will end up importing fuel, a move which will surely cost more dollars than those denied YPF to service its debts. by Michael Soltys
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 New US president gets to work rolling back Trump-era policies 23-01-2021 09:54 Biden issues flurry of executive orders, warns that Covid-19 is expected to kill "well over 600,000" in the United States.
BIDEN INAUGURATION Biden, facing historic challenges, vows to end ‘uncivil war’ 23-01-2021 09:32 Trump era finally draws to close as Joseph Biden is sworn-in as 46th president of United States, two weeks after deadly attack on US Capitol.
US-LATIN AMERICAN RELATIONS Biden to adopt ‘dramatically different’ approach to Latin America 23-01-2021 08:57 With President Joe Biden now in the White House, three respected experts offer their opinions on what lies ahead for US-Latin American relations over the next four years. by Jennifer Heiman
IMF DEBT TALKS President Fernández holds talks with IMF chief Georgieva 22-01-2021 02:25 The government is hoping to renegotiate repayments on a US$44-billion loan granted to the Mauricio Macri administration by the Fund in 2018.
UNITED STATES Biden facing 'competing crises' as he takes office 18-01-2021 23:57 Joe Biden has his work cut out for him as he prepares to be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday.
Bloomberg Oaktree, BlackRock are among YPF creditors organising 18-01-2021 17:25 Investment firms including Oaktree Capital Management and BlackRock Inc are organising into two groups to negotiate with YPF SA after the state oil producer proposed a debt swap that would saddle them with losses.
AND THAT REMINDS ME... Grain means pain, corn meets scorn 16-01-2021 09:13 Maize in a maze would be as good a way as any of describing the government’s slapdash suspension of corn exports early in this new year. by Michael Soltys