News of economy

Claver-Carone promises to unify region after winning IDB vote

Yesterdat 10:19 Ex-Trump aide wins vote to become new president of the Inter-American Development bank, making him first non-Latin American head of institution.

FORMER PRESIDENT RE-EMERGES

Why Macri re-appeared and broke his silence

Yesterdat 10:13 Former president returns to prominence with scathing La Nación column. Sources close to the PRO leader describe his view of Cristina, Alberto and the opposition coalition.

by Ezequiel Spillman

POLITICS & THE PANDEMIC

Dollar blues

Yesterdat 09:51 Argentina’s exasperating affair with the dollar is a recurring issue.

by Martín Gambarotta

CAPITAL CONTROLS

Pesce and Guzmán split over curbs on dollar purchases

Yesterdat 09:26 Government’s economic team split on latest crackdown, as well as how long new rules should remain in place.

THE WEEK IN ARGENTINA

What we learned this week: September 12 to 19

Yesterdat 09:18 Stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

EDITORIAL

Anything but green

Yesterdat 09:11 The intensified capital controls so rattling market confidence may have been a hasty improvisation but were in no way on the spur of the moment – on the contrary, they stem from months of procrastination and denial.

TRANS RIGHTS

More than just a quota – trangender workers hail new inclusion policy

Yesterdat 09:06 Trangender workers praise Argentina’s job quota inclusion policy, saying it’s a step towards acceptance for a much discriminated against community.

TRADE & BUSINESS

Fernández asks firms to trust Argentina amid reports of ‘exodus’

Yesterdat 08:47 Business decisions by Falabella and Glovo grab the headlines and spark speculation, with the former announcing it will shutter four stores and the latter selling off all its Latin America operations.

CAPITAL CONTROLS

Fernandez defends new currency controls as blue dollar soars

Yesterdat 08:25 Economists question wisdom of new Central Bank measures, which hit small savers as well as companies. Blue dollar closes week at more than 140 per greenback.

EU-MERCOSUR DEAL

France says opposes EU-Mercosur trade deal over deforestation concerns

18-09-2020 10:38 France opposed to free-trade deal in its current form due to "major" concerns about deforestation in the region, the government said on Friday.

BLOOMBERG

Offshore millionaires become target of wealth tax bill

17-09-2020 19:34 Government plans to broaden bill imposing taxes on the rich in order to reach non-residents and their investments in Argentine companies, according to lawmaker Carlos Heller.

Bloomberg

Pesce, Guzmán split over curbs on dollar purchases

17-09-2020 16:19 Argentina's economic team split on latest crackdown, as well as how long new rules should remain in place.

Bloomberg

World economy seen withstanding virus better than forecast

16-09-2020 15:35 OECD upgrades the global outlook, but makes huge downward revisions to a number of emerging markets. India, Argentina, Mexico and South Africa will suffer more than predicted in June, it says.

Business departure

Falabella announces closure of four stores in Argentina

15-09-2020 08:07 Chilean department store chain to close four shops in Buenos Aires and look for "strategic partner" for remaining business interests in Argentina.

Bloomberg

Argentines are abandoning a trade that hedged currency risk

14-09-2020 16:02 Dollar-linked instruments in the local market are being abandoned amid speculation government will create a weaker parallel exchange rate while giving investors less favourable terms.

IMF DEBT TALKS

Guzmán: Argentina wants IMF deal with no payments until 2024

13-09-2020 22:50 Economy minister says Argentina wants to delay all IMF loan repayments until 2024 at the earliest in interview with La Nación.

ANALYSIS

With a track record of disasters, Argentina and IMF think small

12-09-2020 10:36 It’s only two years since the IMF broke its own credit records by offering Argentina US$57 billion. Now, talks over a new financing programme are beginning anew.

AS I SEE IT

The cracks keep widening

12-09-2020 10:30 People the world over are getting more irascible by the day, and the unease so many feel is making governments everywhere nervous.

by James Neilson

THE WEEK

What we learned this week: September 5 to 12

12-09-2020 09:33 Key stories that caught our eye during the last seven days in Argentina.

by Michael Soltys

REVENUE-SHARING ROW

Opposition anger at ‘unconstitutional’ federal revenue-sharing move

12-09-2020 09:00 Buenos Aires City Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta said the president had chosen “division” over “dialogue.”

PERIODISMO PURO | INTERVIEW

Santiago Cafiero: ‘Macri sought to blame Argentine society for his own failures.’

12-09-2020 08:46 In a feature-length interview, Cabinet Chief Santiago Cafiero discusses Peronism past and present, the opposition, and what lies ahead for Argentina in the next two years.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

debt talks

IMF in 'initial stages' of Argentina loan talks: official

10-09-2020 18:27 The IMF is in the early phase of talks with Argentina over a new financing programme, and is gathering information on how best to help the country, confirms spokesperson.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Argentina exits default after US$65-billion debt deal

07-09-2020 21:53 Nation officially emerges from its ninth default after Standard & Poor's Global raised its credit rating following the restructuring of US$65 billion of overseas debt.

DEBT DEAL DONE

Debt deal done – now Argentina must rebuild confidence in its economy

05-09-2020 10:29 Analysts praise government's debt restructuring deal, but say rebuilding the economy and generating confidence with markets will be a tougher task.

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.

ROUND UP

What we learned this week: August 29 to September 5

05-09-2020 10:06 Stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

EDITORIAL

Where there’s a need, there’s a whole lot more than a right

05-09-2020 09:59 Neither respect for the law nor acute housing needs should be denied – and nor should they form the opposing sides of a new grieta.

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

GUERNICA, PBA

Poverty-stricken defy courts and coronavirus to occupy land

05-09-2020 09:06 On the southern fringes of Buenos Aires, at the worst moment of the coronavirus pandemic, some 2,500 families are defying both the courts and Covid-19.

BLOOMBERG

Guzmán says Argentina must work to cut bond yields

04-09-2020 17:53 Country must reduce its bond yields before returning to international capital markets in a process that will likely take some time, says Economy Minister Martín Guzmán in interview.

Bloomberg

Ex-Costa Rica president Laura Chinchilla pitches IDB top job candidacy

03-09-2020 11:56 Laura Chinchilla, former president of Costa Rica, is considered a long-shot in the race to head the Inter-American Development Bank, but is positioning herself as a moderate alternative to US President Donald Trump's nomination, Mauricio Claver-Carone.

Coronanomics

Zoom stock surges, market value tops Boeing, Starbucks

01-09-2020 22:26 Zoom's market value is now higher than US$129 billion. The company reported explosive growth during the second quarter as more people paid for subscriptions, giving them more control over virtual meetings.

Global pandemic

Virus plunges Brazil into recession with record 9.7% drop

01-09-2020 10:59 Brazil's economy, the biggest in the reion, contracted by a record 9.7% in the second quarter of 2020, plunging into recession.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Guzmán confirms 99% of overseas debt restructured in swap

31-08-2020 17:52 Argentina wins "massive" bondholder support to restructure overseas debt, exchanging 99% of debt held under international law.

Presidential agenda

Fernández to reboot government's agenda with new announcements

31-08-2020 10:04 President seeks to push agenda beyond the immediate challenges of virus pandemic, with government planning series of announcements related to the economy, debt talks and security.

Wealth tax

Congress set to debate government's 'wealth tax' bill

30-08-2020 16:55 Government’s proposed ‘wealth tax’ bill heads to Congress. President Fernández seeks to bring in 300 billion pesos in tax revenue through one-time levy on wealthiest citizens.

AS I SEE IT

Dreaming of a military alternative

29-08-2020 10:04 Military rule may no longer be an alternative, but chaos most certainly is.

by James Neilson

THE WEEK IN ARGENTINA

What we learned this week: August 22 to 29

29-08-2020 09:39 Stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

EDITORIAL

Method in the madness?

29-08-2020 09:31 One of the oldest tricks in the book in Argentina is to sneak through some controversial or predatory decree on the brink of the weekend. Let us take a closer look at that telecommunications decree.

GUEST VOICE

Tourists will return, but how many of us will be left?

29-08-2020 09:14 In Salta Province, we are one of 164 travel agencies; there are 530 hotels and more than 1,200 bars and restaurants, many of whom rely on free-spending holidaymakers to improve their profit margins.

by Nick Evans

PERIODISMO PURO / INTERVIEW

Matías Kulfas: 'We believe in an active state, which complements the market'

29-08-2020 08:36 Argentina’s Productive Development Minister on post-pandemic Argentina, the state’s role in the economy and balancing public accounts.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

LA GRIETA

Argentina’s burnout syndrome

29-08-2020 08:28 The lack of social contact, confinement, and a current state of alert given protracted panic is causing anxiety and cognitively wearing down our population, making the future recovery even more uncertain.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Bloomberg

Argentina won’t seek fresh IMF funding in upcoming talks

27-08-2020 22:48 Argentina's representative to IMF, Sergio Chodos, says country won't seek fresh funding during talks over new financing programme.

IMF DEBT TALKS

Government formally opens debt rescheduling talks with IMF

27-08-2020 02:30 Government formally opens talks with IMF over new terms for repayment of record US$57-billion bailout agreed in 2018 by Macri administration.

ECONOMIC POLICY

Central Bank optimistic over post-bond swap future

25-08-2020 19:20 Central Bank Governor Miguel Ángel Pesce says closure of the debt swap deal would relieve pressures on exchange markets and improve economic expectations.

SINO-ARGENTINE RELATIONS

‘Relaciones carnales’: 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

BLOOMBERG

Drought and frosts threaten Argentina’s record wheat crop

21-08-2020 15:20 A drought coupled with bouts of frost may curb wheat output across swathes of Argentina, the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange said in a report.

Global pandemic

Peru's economy slumps amid pandemic

21-08-2020 14:54 Peru's year-on-year GDP fell by 30% in the second quarter of 2020 as it was badly affected by coronavirus containment measures, the government said on Thursday.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Stark economic data underlines pandemic's impact on Argentina's economy

21-08-2020 14:02 Economic activity slumped 12.9% in the first half of 2020 year-on-year, INDEC reveals. Yet rebound is beginning amid coronavirus lockdown.