News of economy

BLOOMBERG

Government struggles to stop precious dollars draining away

Today 16:18 Foreign currency reserves dropped to a four-year low last week, totalling less than they did when the International Monetary Fund started its mega-loan programme with Argentina in 2018.

On 25 de Mayo, around 150 protesters demonstrated in the Plaza de Mayo, holding up signs carrying slogans such as "Freedom", "No to the new world order" and "We want to work."

Coronavirus pandemic

First anti-lockdown protest takes place in Buenos Aires

Today 15:41 Around 150 demonstrators rallied at the Plaza de Mayo on the 25 de Mayo holiday, protesting the lockdown introduced to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and the halt in economic activity.

A pedestrian wearing a protective mask walks in front of the Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires.

BLOOMBERG

Argentine bonds rise after default as investors await deal

Today 15:04 Bonds due in 2036 climb 2.3 cents to 33.2 cents on the dollar. Famed century bond follows suit, jumping 3.3 cents to also trade at 33 cents.

New restrictions for the capital and its surroundings are being introduced to tackle the spread of Covid-19.

Coronavirus pandemic

City government details new restrictions on commerce, transport

Today 09:40 City government announces new restrictions on commercial activity and shopping, new controls on circulation of people in and out of the capital and closing of 11 train stations.

A man crosses a street in Buenos Aires during the coronavirus lockdown.

BLOOMBERG

Now in default, Argentina plans improved offer for creditors

Today 09:22 While bondholders now have the option to take Argentina to court to sue for full repayment, creditors said last week that legal action against the country would be counterproductive.

LatAm airlines has filed for bankruptcy.

Bloomberg

Latam Air files Chapter 11 bankruptcy, stymied by lockdowns

Today 09:15 Latam has already eliminated more than 1,850 jobs in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru in recent weeks from its global workforce of about 40,000 people, after cutting 95% of its passenger operations.

A woman takes photos of her daughters by a mural referencing the Covid-19 pandemic, painted in honour of health workers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, May 21, 2020. The mural is by graffiti artist Angelo Campos, 39, who has lost two relatives to the new coronavirus.

Global pandemic

White House imposes coronavirus travel ban on Brazil

Yesterdat 08:39 Brazil, now Latin America's hardest-hit country, has recorded more than 347,000 cases and more than 22,000 deaths from Covid-19.

President Alberto Fernández.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Debt renegotiations to continue – with confidentiality agreements

24-05-2020 18:22 Economy Ministry asks bondholders negotiating with it to sign a confidentiality agreement, after government extends deadline for talks to June 2.

Vehicle controls are set to be stepped up.

NEW MEASURES

Quarantine extension: new permits, more checkpoints, less public transport

24-05-2020 09:20 Authorities are concerned by the spread of the virus amid an increase in circulation of people on the streets and on public transport.

President Alberto Fernández, flanked by City Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, and Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof, offers a press conference to announce new measures regarding the lockdown to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus Covid-19, at the Olivos Presidential Residence.

Coronavirus pandemic

Government extends quarantine for 15 more days amid rise in infections

23-05-2020 22:30 President Fernández announces Argentina will extend government's mandatory social isolation until June 7, amid an acceleration in the spread of the new Covid-19 coronavirus.

A salt mine in northern Argentina.

LITHIUM

Coronavirus halts lithium expansion in Argentina and Chile

23-05-2020 10:10 Projects under development halted and significant investments cancelled, as impact of Covid-19 pandemic begins to hit home.

by Fermin Koop

This season, farmers traded a lot of soybeans early on, during planting, because they were sure Alberto Fernández would hike export taxes.

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.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a former managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN INTERVIEW

Dominique Strauss-Kahn: ‘Argentina has the cards to renegotiate its debt’

23-05-2020 09:45 French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a former managing director of the International Monetary Fund, gives his view on Argentina’s debt restructuring talks, the Fund’s leadership and wealth taxes.

by Eugenia Iglesias

YPF oil barrel. Fixed oil prices in Argentina.

THE ‘BARRIL CRIOLLO’

What is Argentina's US$45 'barril criollo' and how will affect local producers?

23-05-2020 09:31 Artificially fixed reference price for barril criollo imposed in move to defend jobs and output levels, with an eye keenly trained on Vaca Muerta shale.

Buenos Aires, City and Province, Kicillof and Rodriguez Larreta.

PANDEMIC POLITICS

Buenos Aires versus Buenos Aires

23-05-2020 09:21 Horacio Rodríguez Larreta is under pressure because he needs to control the epidemic in the metropolis. Otherwise his reputation could be tarnished – possibly even ruined.

by Martín Gambarotta

One of the residents in villa 31, Ramona.

ARGENTINA CORONAVIRUS

Fears over Covid-19 in villas come to fruition with community leader's death

23-05-2020 09:13 Ramona Medina's death shines a light on the problems facing Argentina’s poorest amid the coronavirus pandemic, which is spreading more rapidly in low-income neighbourhoods.

Lockdown extension in Buenos Aires.

THE LAST SEVEN DAYS

May 16th - May 23rd: What we learned this week

23-05-2020 08:59 Stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

President Alberto Fernández’s bold bet on a young and inexperienced economy minister is close to revealing its worth. Martín Guzmán has led a meticulous and relatively civilised battle with Wall Street titans.

ARGENTINA IN DEFAULT

One step at a time

23-05-2020 07:56 Whatever blueprint Argentina and its creditors leave for the rest of the world’s increasingly troubled debtors, the nation will have to face “the day after” sooner or later, where some 89 percent of the population has directly or indirectly received a public subsidy during this crisis, while the state is absolutely broke.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Argentina´s debt restructuring problems continue.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING TALKS

Government defaults on bond payments, deadline dance continues

23-05-2020 07:47 Four years after returning to the capital markets, Argentina’s defaults for the ninth time in history. Government and creditors continue negotiating, as Economy Ministry extends deadline for talks until June 2.

Economy Minister Martín Guzmán, pictured at his office inside the Economy Ministry in downtown Buenos Aires.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Government to rework debt offer after missing interest payment

22-05-2020 23:05 Counter-offers submitted by bondholder groups are better than their original proposals, yet still far from what the country considers sustainable, says Martín Guzmán.

President Alberto Fernández.

BLOOMBERG

Argentina faces ninth default with bondholder talks extended

22-05-2020 13:15 Argentina’s Ambassador to the United States Jorge Argüello publishes letter saying the government won't meet payment due today until a new agreement is reached with creditors.

Handout picture released by Presidency shows President Alberto Fernández delivering a speech at the Volkswagen Argentina factory after it resumed production, in General Pacheco, Buenos Aires Province, on May 19, 2020.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Default looms for Argentina despite debt deadline extension

22-05-2020 13:15 Argentina was teetering on the brink of a second default this century on Friday as the deadline for a US$500-million bond interest repayment approached.

Handout photo released by Economy Ministry shows Martín Guzmán during a during a livestream event hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce in Buenos Aires on May 19, 2020.

DEBT TALKS

Economy Ministry extends deadline for debt talks to June 2

22-05-2020 03:12 Government will miss US$500-million payment due today; Economy Ministry extends deadline for negotiations with creditors for 10 days.

Handout picture released by Presidency shows President Alberto Fernández (right) greeting a worker at a Volkswagen Argentina factory after it restarted production, in General Pacheco, Buenos Aires Province, on May 19, 2020.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Argentina has been 'in default for months,' says Fernández

22-05-2020 02:16 "We have been in default for months, before December even we were in default," says Peronist leader.

Coffins of coronavirus victims wait to be buried at a cemetery in Guayaquil on April 3.

BLOOMBERG

BlackRock, Ashmore form Ecuador creditor group as swaps pay out

21-05-2020 14:02 Ecuador is slashing spending and negotiating a new loan package with the IMF, while money managers line up together to present a united front for restructuring talks.

A woman wearing a face mask crosses the street in Buenos Aires.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

'Any kind of default could be cured in short order,’ says creditor group

21-05-2020 13:39 While some kind of default in Argentina is likely, investors said a default wouldn’t be immediately followed by litigation because taking legal action amid the talks solves nothing.

A street in Buenos Aires, pictured during the coronavirus pandemic.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Government to extend debt offer as talks continue past Friday

21-05-2020 13:23 Argentina will skip delayed US$500-million interest payment on Friday, but plans to extend talks by at least 10 days, sources say.

President Alberto Fernández meets with Axel Kicillof, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta and a host of officials.

Coronavirus pandemic

Fernández, Rodríguez Larreta, Kicillof agree 'no margin' to loosen quarantine

21-05-2020 02:10 President, provincial governor and city mayor agree there is "no margin" to further liberalise quarantine measures in Greater Buenos Aires, given current state of affairs.

The Central Bank in Buenos Aires.

BLOOMBERG

Inflation expectations soar amid Central Bank stimulus

21-05-2020 01:41 Plans to greatly expand the amount of money in circulation, while the demand for pesos is low and inflation is already at 45%, have increased concerns about rising prices.

Governments across the world are offering loans and other support programs to prevent performing companies from going under.

BLOOMBERG

Hedge funds build war chests to target dislocated debt in Europe

21-05-2020 01:27 About a dozen funds are in race to gather more than US$11 billion, which would more than double the unspent capital available in European distressed debt money pools, according to data compiled by Preqin.

A public transport driver wears a face mask as a preventive measure against the spread of the novel coronavirus, Covid-19, at El Dorado international airport in Bogotá on May 18, 2020.

Global pandemic

Colombia grounds flights through end of August

21-05-2020 00:41 Colombia plans to ground international travel until at least the end of August, joining Argentina in enacting one of the world’s strictest travel bans in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

A mural of San La Muerte is seen on a wall in Villa 31.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Economic activity fell 11.5% in March as lockdown kicked in

20-05-2020 18:12 INDEC national statistics bureau reveals economy contracted by 11.5% in March, as lockdown kicked in. Experts anticipate that April's data will be even worse.

In this Monday, May 4, 2020, a bikes mechanic counts money on his shop, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon.

Is cash still King?

Cash, long a refuge in uncertain times, now under suspicion

20-05-2020 08:23 In troubled times, people have been known to hoard currency. But in the coronavirus crisis, things are different. Cash, so often a source of reassurance, is now a source of suspicion.

Porteños walk the streets just off Avenida Santa Fe in Buenos Aires City.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Creditors, government still far apart on debt offers as deadline looms

19-05-2020 18:02 In a webinar, Economy Minister Martín Guzmán says he expected negotiations to extend past May 22. Two sides remain some way apart, just days before default deadline arrives.

A YPF drilling operation in Vaca Muerta.

Pandemic fall-out

Via decree, government fixes price of ‘barril criollo’ at US$45

19-05-2020 17:45 More than a week after move was trailed heavily, Fernández administration imposes artificially fixed reference price in move to defend jobs and output levels – with an eye trained on Vaca Muerta shale.

A man in Córdoba undergoes a test to see if he has been infected with Covid-19.

Coronavirus pandemic

City of Córdoba resumes lockdown after virus cases spike

19-05-2020 15:20 Officials in provincial capital roll back easing of lockdown measures following a sharp spike in coronavirus infections, authorities confirm.

Workers return to their jobs at a Toyota factory in Buenos Aires Province, after the lockdown for the coronavirus pandemic.

Coronavirus pandemic

Government extends ban on unjust lay-offs for another two months

19-05-2020 13:08 In a bid to secure jobs amid the coronavirus crisis, Fernández administration extends existing ban on dismissals without "just cause" until July 31.

Flybondi.

Bloomberg

Flybondi bets on flights in Argentina to survive virus crisis

18-05-2020 17:23 Low-cost carrier will focus on domestic flights as long as demand for international travel remains subdued due to the coronavirus pandemic, says executive.

A pedestrian wearing a protective mask passes by a store in the Barrio Norte neighbourhood of Buenos Aires.

BLOOMBERG

Provinces gear up for debt battles after first 'selective default'

18-05-2020 16:53 Half-a-dozen regional governments are taking their own steps to weigh up options as Argentina negotiates with holders of its overseas debt ahead of a May 22 deadline.

Shoppers line up alongside a newly re-opened toyshop in Buenos Aires.

BLOOMBERG

Argentine bonds climb on hopes new offers will spark a deal

18-05-2020 16:42 Rally extended after largest creditor groups present new debt restructuring counter-proposals, fuelling speculation the parties could be closer to reaching a deal.

Children attend a class held in the high class tribune at the Telia Parken stadium in order to keep the social distances amid the new coronavirus pandemic on May 15, 2020 in Copenhagen. Denmark was the first country in Europe to reopen its schools for the youngest pupils on April 15. In addition to practising social distancing and regular handwashing, classes must be held outdoors as much as possible to limit the spread of the virus.

Global pandemic

Lockdown easing in Europe, but virus hits hard in South America, Africa

18-05-2020 12:29 Rising death tolls in Brazil, South Africa and other parts of the world show the worst is still to come for many countries.

President Alberto Fernandez and Economy Minister Martín Guzmán.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Government studies counter-offers as debt talks enter crucial week

17-05-2020 21:22 Government is continuing to analyse three counter-offers from creditors they hope will break the debt deadlock.

Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou (centre), wears a face mask in Montevideo, during the coronavirus pandemic.

environment

Uruguay renegotiates US$3-billion pulp plant deal with Finland's UPM

17-05-2020 08:27 Environmentalists have raised concerns over the plant's impact on Uruguay River, while Argentina lost a challenge in the International Court of Justice.

Gerardo Rodríguez and Martín Guzmán, Argentina’s Economy Minister.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Feud with BlackRock escalates as debt talks get heated

16-05-2020 10:53 The govenrment’s debt restructuring talks with foreign creditors are getting heated, and one Wall Street firm – BlackRock Inc – is a big part of the reason why.

Cafiero said the state will thus be paying half the wages of almost two million private-sector workers, as it did in April.

ARGENTINA

State to pay half of private-sector wages in June

16-05-2020 09:43 Government to pay half the wages of almost two million private-sector workers, as it did in April.

Argentina´s key stories.

KEY STORIES

May 9th-16th: What we learned this week

16-05-2020 09:09 Stories that caught our eye in the last seven days.

Most leaders holding office have had no choice but to close ranks behind Fernández.

PANDEMIC PONDERINGS

Still quarantined after all these days

16-05-2020 08:00 If the funds are playing the instability game to trigger a political crisis, it’s not happening right here and now. Most of the centre-right opposition leaders holding office have had no choice but to close ranks behind Fernández, who is extremely popular according to polls.

by Martín Gambarotta

Argentina’s largest creditors have sent Alberto Fernández’s government new counter-offers in an effort to reach a US$65-billion restructuring deal in the coming week.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Creditors submit new debt proposals to government

15-05-2020 23:22 Argentina’s largest creditors have sent Alberto Fernández’s government new counter-offers in an effort to reach a US$65-billion restructuring deal in the coming week.

Buenos Aires Province has been cut to selective default by S&P Global Ratings after it missed a deadline to make a US$150-million payment.

BLOOMBERG

Buenos Aires Province cut to selective default by S&P global

15-05-2020 23:22 Argentina’s largest and most populous province is considered to be in selective default because negotiations with creditors are ongoing, making the proposal a “distressed exchange,” according to an S&P statement.

A person walks through a nearly empty Plaza de Armas square in Santiago, Chile, on Friday, April 17, 2020. Chile has confirmed more than 9,700 infections nationwide, as lockdown measures continue.

BLOOMBERG

Bank of America says Latin America’s economy to crash 6.8% this year

15-05-2020 15:55 Bank of America Corp expects Latin America’s economy to slump by 6.8 percent this year and warned that plans to reopen businesses are unlikely to go smoothly as new cases continue to soar.

According to the IMF, Argentina faces a projected economic contraction of 5.7 percent this year.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Argentine bonds climb as creditors, government narrow the gulf

15-05-2020 15:51 Argentine bonds rose Friday on optimism that the government and its creditors will seal an agreement to restructure US$65 billion in foreign bonds.

Workers put together food boxes for the "Seamos Uno," or "Let's Be One," project in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, May 13, 2020.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Inflation slowed to 1.5% in April amid nationwide lockdown

15-05-2020 02:18 Consumer prices rose 1.5% in April compared to March, a significant decrease from the previous monthly figure of 3.3%, the INDEC national statistics agency reported.

Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof wearing a face mask.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Buenos Aires Province asks creditors for 'plausible' counter-proposal

15-05-2020 01:56 Kicillof administration, which is negotiating with bondholders for the restructuring of US$7 billion in total debt, skips US$110-million payment, taking province to verge of default.

The Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, pictured during the coronavirus lockdown.

BLOOMBERG

What you need to know about Argentina’s debt crisis: Q&A

14-05-2020 12:51 Argentina is just a week away from a deadline to avoid a chaotic default, its ninth since independence in 1816. Here's what you need to know.

State oil and gas company YPF is cutting spending to shore up its balance sheet as debt payments come to the fore amid the collapse of the oil market.

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.

Homeless people sleep outside the Cathedral amid the spread of the new coronavirus in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, May 7, 2020.

Coronavirus pandemic

São Paulo homeless face choice between cold and virus risk

13-05-2020 11:52 Brazil's biggest homeless population has begun succumbing to COVID-19, and activists warn the worst is yet to come as colder weather bears down and shelters risk becoming hotbeds for infection.

A man visits a reopened bookstore in Buenos Aires City.

Coronavirus pandemic

Some non-essential stores reopen for business in Buenos Aires

12-05-2020 22:23 City authorities began allowing some "non-essential" shops and businesses to reopen on Tuesday, easing coronavirus restrictions in place in the capital since March 20.

Government House in La Plata, Buenos Aires Province.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Buenos Aires Province misses debt payment, extends deadline for offer

12-05-2020 17:20 Provincial government extends deadline to creditors to consider US$7-billion restructuring offer, following a similar move the national government.

Paul Krugman.

Bloomberg

Paul Krugman: Liquidity trap has spread to emerging markets

12-05-2020 16:35 The so-called liquidity trap, when monetary policy loses its traction as interest rates get close to zero, has plagued rich countries for years – now, Nobel-Prize winning economist Paul Krugman says it has now spread to some emerging markets as well.

Education Minister Nicolas Trotta stressed on Tuesday that "August" is the "scenario" they foresee for the return to classes with a "dual system" between schools and distance education.

Coronavirus pandemic

Education minister says schools in Argentina may re-open in August

12-05-2020 13:17 Education minister speculates over August return for classes, but says students would go to school only two or three times a week, with a "dual system" of face-to-face teaching and online learning.

The Jorge Newbery Metropolitan Airport is empty during the general strike called by the opposition trade unions on August 28, 2020.

Coronavirus lockdown

International flights at Jorge Newbery Airport postponed until December

12-05-2020 13:13 Nearly all international flights at Buenos Aires City's Jorge Newbery Airport have been postponed until December 1, the government has announced.

The city of Buenos Aires woke up on Monday with extended sidewalks, and other measures to have "more public space and to take care of social isolation" in view of the reopening of several shops.

Coronavirus pandemic

Covid-19 in figures: Two months of the pandemic that paralysed Argentina

12-05-2020 12:59 Sixty days have passed since the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus a global pandemic. Since then, Argentines have spent 52 days in isolation, with only a fraction of the population out on the streets every day.

by Darío Silva D'Andrea

The Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, pictured during the coronavirus lockdown.

BLOOMBERG - OPINION

Mohamed A. El-Erian: Argentina gives debt negotiation another chance

12-05-2020 09:17 The change in the government stance kicks the ball back to the creditors, raising two dynamics that may be best viewed through a game-theory lens.

Joseph Stiglitz, economics professor at Columbia University, gestures as he speaks during a panel session on day three of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

BLOOMBERG

Stiglitz: Creditors to shoulder blame if Argentina defaults

11-05-2020 22:42 “If creditors don’t put forward a sustainable offer, Argentina has no choice; it’s creditors who are really driving the default here,” declares Nobel-winning economist.

A worker sprays disinfectant at a food market in El Alto, Bolivia, on Tuesday, April 28, 2020. Bolivia's lockdown extension is set to expire on April 30, this as it strikes a deal with Chile to return hundreds of migrants back home.

Coronavirus pandemic

Costlier food hits Latin America’s poor and adds to unrest risk

11-05-2020 13:03 A jump in food prices across Latin America is bringing added misery to the poorest families hit by the coronavirus pandemic and increasing the chance of social unrest.

Avianca, which counts United Airlines Holdings Inc. and Kingsland Holdings as stakeholders, listed as much as US$10 billion in liabilities and the same amount in assets.

Bloomberg

Avianca files for bankruptcy as Latin American skies stay closed

11-05-2020 12:57 Avianca Holdings SA, one of the biggest carriers in Latin America, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after travel bans across the region forced the Colombian airline to ground its fleet.

A waiter serves coffee to a guest at the restaurant Portico on the Piazza Grande in Locarno, Switzerland.

Global pandemic

Restart or re-stop? Across world, economies reopen but chaos abounds

11-05-2020 08:47 Worldwide, four million people have been reported infected and more than 280,000 have died, over 150,000 of them in Europe. Health experts believe all those numbers understate the true toll of the pandemic for different reasons.

The Puerto Madero neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, pictured at night.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Government extends debt deadline until May 22

11-05-2020 08:38 Deadline has been extended to May 22 after bondholders opposed the offer. The previous cut-off was May 8, and the extension means results will now be announced on May 25 and liquidated on May 27.

A bus driver wearing a protective mask sits behind a plastic screen in Buenos Aires.

BLOOMBERG - OPINION

For Argentina, coronavirus is a matter of life or debt

11-05-2020 08:00 So profound are Argentina’s self-made misfortunes that an imported contagion and the economic turmoil it has wrought have thrown out an unexpected lifeline.

by Mac Margolis

A pedestrian wearing a protective mask walks in front of the Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires.

DEBT SWAP PROPOSAL

Government extends offer to restructure debt until Monday

10-05-2020 09:11 "The possibility of extending the offer continues until Monday, May 11. When this term expires, we will define the steps to be followed," President Fernández tweeted Saturday.