News of economy

Fishing vessels illegally target marine mammals in South American waters

Yesterdat 12:00 Conservationists warn sea lions and elephant seals are being captured by foreign vessels in Argentine and Uruguayan waters. Experts call for urgent measures from authorities.

by Fermin Koop

San Juan’s vaccine hunt

One million doses of Sputnik V and 18 million euros

Yesterdat 00:44 A failed deal to purchase one million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine has helped lift the curtain that shields the murky world of secondary markets for Covid-19 shots.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

A street vendor sells clothes alongside Avenida Corrientes in the Balvanera neighbourhood, on Thursday, July 22, 2021.

Bloomberg

Pandemic slashes pay for workers in Latin America’s black economy

Yesterdat 00:28 Latin America's job market is going deeper into the dark, with a surge of off-the-books employment trapping millions in an abyss of worse pay, unstable work and dependence on government aid.

President Alberto Fernández meets with newly sworn-in Peru leader Pedro Castillo.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

What we learned this week: July 24 to 31

Yesterdat 00:17 A selection of some of the stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

The number of firms, according to Ecolatina, is currently at the level of the first year of the first term of the Cristina Fernández de Kirchner presidency.

SMEs in Argentina

‘PyMEdemia’ – 20,000 SMEs closed, 100,000 jobs lost in 2020, says report

Yesterdat 00:07 New Ecolatina report says the number of small and medium sized companies in Argentina has dropped to 2008 levels in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

INTERVIEW / PERIODISMO PURO

Miguel Pichetto: ‘Argentina’s true debate is between capitalism and ideologies glorifying poverty’

30-07-2021 23:36 Former senator and vice-presidential candidate, who today serves as the nation’s auditor general, discusses Republican Peronism, the upcoming elections and “political discipline is essential.”

by Jorge Fontevecchia

Lacking a million Sputnik V vaccines, San Juan wants its 18 millions euros back

INVESTIGATION: VACCINES & INTERMEDIARIES

Lacking a million Sputnik V vaccines, San Juan wants its 18 million euros back

30-07-2021 22:13 Provincial government’s contract for shots, signed with German middlemen, has fallen through, adding to the claims of the national government against the Russian lab. Now San Juan wants its money back.

by Brenda Funes

Edenor's offices in Chacarita, Buenos Aires.

Bloomberg

Argentina’s Edenor Wins Creditor Support to Avoid Early Payout

30-07-2021 21:06 Bondholders accepted company’s cash offer to waive bond clause. Creditors to receive one-time payout of $20 per $1000 in notes.

Handout picture released by the Peruvian Presidency of Peruvian President Pedro Castillo attending a military parade commemorating the country’s Independence Day, in Lima on July 30, 2021.

New era in Peru?

Peru's currency plummets amid political uncertainty

30-07-2021 17:29 Peru's currency fell to a record low against the US dollar on Friday as the Lima stock exchange dropped more than six percent amid uncertainty over the next finance minister.

A health worker holds a box with five doses of the Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19, before vaccination health and education workers in a school in Bernal on February 18, 2021.

VACCINE DIPLOMACY

Russia’s global vaccine ambitions stumble during supply shortage

30-07-2021 17:09 The Kremlin’s ambitions to win soft-power dividends around the world from Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine are being hampered by delays in delivering Sputnik V to foreign buyers clamouring for supplies.

Low water levels in the Rio Grande River during a drought at the Furnas Reservoir in Furnas, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, on Tuesday, June 29, 2021.

Bloomberg

Water crisis threatens grain, iron transport on key Brazil river

29-07-2021 16:12 Brazil issued a provisional measure to authorise exceptional and temporary efforts to optimize the use of hydro-energy resources and secure energy supply as country faces one of its worst water crisis.

Argentina occupies 15th place among the 135 countries whose statistics were covered by this survey with sky-high tariffs.

NEW REPORT

WTO: Argentina among top 15 countries with most import barriers

28-07-2021 22:00 New WTO and UNCTAD technical report warns country is among those which slap the most levies on the entry of products, with Brazil next in 16th position.

Argentina's Central Bank, in Buenos Aires City.

Bloomberg

Government speeds up money printing ahead of election

28-07-2021 17:00 Central Bank was printing money for the Treasury at the fastest pace so far this year in July.

Peru's new President Pedro Castillo is sworn-in by Congress President María del Carmen Alva during his inauguration ceremony at the National Congress in Lima, on July 28, 2021.

NEW PRESIDENT IN PERU

Castillo sworn in as Peru president, vows new constitution

28-07-2021 16:33 Pedro Castillo was sworn in as Peru's fifth president in three years Wednesday on the 200th anniversary of the country's independence, promising an end to corruption and a new constitution.

People wait to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in Buenos Aires.

Coronavirus pandemic

City Hall issues porteños with Covid vaccine certificates via WhatsApp

28-07-2021 15:07 City Hall is now issuing vaccinated residents with a Covid-19 certificate via WhatsApp, giving porteños a digital record of their Covid-19 tests and vaccine shots.

International Monetary Fund

IMF improves Argentina's 2021 growth forecast to 6.4%

27-07-2021 17:06 Argentina's economy will grow 6.4% in 2021, predicts International Monetary Fund, citing higher export prices and improved vaccination rate.

Buenos Aires, pictured during the coronavirus pandemic.

Bloomberg

Argentina’s pension fund piles on company bonds as locals baulk

26-07-2021 09:56 ANSES buys long-term corporate debt with eye on infrastructure; Public fund must invest US$2 billion by end of 2023.

The Liniers Cattle Market is moving to Cañuelas, Buenos Aires Province, after more than a century in Mataderos.

PHOTO FEATURE

Liniers cattle market: last memory of a rural Buenos Aires

26-07-2021 08:00 Liniers cattle market prepares to close its doors, ahead of move to Cañuelas, after more than a century in Mataderos.

politics

Sputniks, dollars and justice: three things we’re missing

24-07-2021 00:38 Over the past few weeks, the so-called “pax cambiaria,” or exchange rate stability, that allowed for a very sluggish decline in inflation and a timid recovery in economic activity has been disturbed by turbulence.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

As I see it

Taking sides in the new cold war

24-07-2021 00:35 Joe Biden wants his country to lead a coalition of the willing to help him wage what, he hopes, will remain a cold war against China, Russia and other autocracies.

by James Neilson

The successive fates of the austral and convertibility would suggest that Argentina’s currency is like Icarus – the closer it flies to the sun, the harder the economy crashes.

AND THAT REMINDS ME…

Mightier than the dollar

24-07-2021 00:34 The successive fates of the austral and convertibility would suggest that Argentina’s currency is like Icarus – the closer it flies to the sun, the harder the economy crashes.

by Michael Soltys

From right to left: Mauricio Macri, Mariano Macri, Franco Macri.

INTERVIEW / PERIODISMO PURO

Mariano Macri: ‘Unmasking Mauricio is fundamental for me’

24-07-2021 00:14 Mariano Macri, the younger brother of former president Mauricio Macri, on their father Franco, SOCMA and why “politics and business life are not compatible.”

by Jorge Fontevecchia

Argentina's athletes fly the flag at the Olympics in Tokyo.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

What we learned this week: July 17 to 24

23-07-2021 23:56 A selection of the stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

A calculator app on a phone and greenbacks.

exchange rate

Blue dollar rises to 185, highest price since October

23-07-2021 19:25 Argentina’s currency continues to depreciate in parallel exchange markets; Informal ‘blue’ dollar rate has risen by 17 pesos so far in July.

Incoming Central Bank chief Miguel Angel Pesce.

Bloomberg

Not even 50% inflation will make Argentina boost interest rates

23-07-2021 16:47 Central Bank rules out increasing interest rates for the foreseeable future, even as currency pressures mount and annual inflation climbs above 50%.

Leftist school teacher Pedro Castillo speaks to supporters from the balcony of the Peru Libre party headquarters in Lima, following the official proclamation of him as Peru’s president-elect on July 19, 2021.

New era in Peru

Pedro Castillo must appease markets to rescue Peru’s economy

23-07-2021 16:15 New leader insists he wants to form a government picked from a broad spectrum. He'll need support as he tries to address a deep economic crisis in a country battered by the coronavirus epidemic.

Foreign Minister Felipe Solá (File photo).

Mercosur in crisis

Felipe Solá: Brazil's 'hostile attitude has killed debate within Mercosur'

22-07-2021 22:01 Argentina’s foreign minister slams Brazilian government during visit to Rio to mark 30th anniversary of nuclear accord between two nations.

Government House in La Plata, Buenos Aires Province.

Bloomberg

Creditors now split over Buenos Aires Province's restructuring offer

22-07-2021 15:54 Buenos Aires Province's creditors are now divided over a US$7.1-billion debt restructuring proposal, signalling that Argentina’s largest province still has work to do to emerge from default.

Brazilian transgender Rochelly Rangel, 34, poses for a picture at the Boleia Bar, where she works as a waitress, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 15, 2021. After 15 years looking for a job with a formal contract, Rangel has landed not one, but two jobs after attending an extension project of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) focused on training transgender people and transvestites in the bar and restaurant business. She explained "I work in a women's bar, where I'm an attendant. I know what a struggle it was to get here, we need a formal non-heteronormative job market".

LATIN AMERICA

Trans workers breaking barriers in Brazil

22-07-2021 09:58 A growing number of training programmes aimed specifically at transgender people are helping workers break through barriers in Brazil.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

INDEC: Economic activity in May fell 2% from previous month

21-07-2021 22:00 Argentina's economy grew 13.6% in May year-on-year, but declined 2% on the previous month, reports INDEC.

Formal employment in the construction industry fell by 3.9 percent during 2019, a year in which there was a drop in that economic activity.

BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS

Economy posts sharpest decline in a year in May

21-07-2021 18:17 Argentina’s economy posted its worst decline in a year in May as the government implemented another strict lockdown and a temporary ban on beef exports cooled the business climate.

The Salinas Grandes salt pan in the Andes Mountains.

Bloomberg

Toyota-Panasonic battery venture slashes costs to take on China

21-07-2021 14:53 Materials alone make up 60 percent of the cost of an EV battery and about half of that comes from resources like lithium and cobalt. Finding ways to reduce those expenses is proving increasingly important as surging demand for electric vehicles sends raw materials prices soaring.

Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof.

Bloomberg

Buenos Aires Province reaches debt accord with key holders

21-07-2021 11:52 Buenos Aires Province and creditors reach initial agreement to restructure US$7.1 billion of overseas debt, paving the way for region to emerge from default.

Marcos Galperín, co-founder and chief executive officer of MercadoLibre Inc., smiles during an interview in Buenos Aires.

Bloomberg

MercadoLibre, BigCommerce ally to boost US sales to Latin America

21-07-2021 10:46 MercadoLibre partners with Texas-based BigCommerce Holdings to give the online-shopping software-maker’s web merchants access to a new region.

Fruit and vegetables, pictured for sale at a shop in Buenos Aires.

PRICE RISES

Private firms predict inflation will exceed 48% this year

20-07-2021 19:46 Several inflation projections for this year now top 50% – way above the government's stated target of 29%.

Sergio Chodos, Executive Director for the Southern Cone at the IMF.

INTERVIEW

Sergio Chodos: ‘The fundamental thing is to get out of excessive debt’

20-07-2021 17:03 IMF Executive Director of the Southern Cone was a key member of the committee accompanying Economy Minister Martín Guzmán at the recent G20 summit. “The meeting with Janet Yellen was very good,” he reveals, regarding the US Treasury Secretary.

by Leandro Dario

On Cuba, Joe Biden said his administration is checking whether it can resume Internet service restricted by the regime, but he didn’t offer a more expansive plan to respond to some of the biggest street protests in years.

GEOPOLITICS

Latin America turmoil intrudes in Biden’s focus on China, Europe

19-07-2021 11:29 US President Joe Biden says his foreign policy focus is on China and frayed alliances in Asia and Europe. But his administration is finding it harder to avoid getting pulled into Latin America’s problems.

Argentina’s Health Ministry authorised the purchase of 10,000 polished wooden phalluses and other items for sex education purposes

SEX EDUCATION SPENDING

Health Ministry defends purchase of 10,000 wooden phalluses

19-07-2021 06:00 Health Ministry's approval of purchase of 10,000 polished wooden phalluses, condom dispensers and other items raises attention online. Items, estimated to cost more than 13 million pesos, will be used for sex education purposes.

opinion and analysis

Geopolitics and the ideological populism of Macri and Cristina

17-07-2021 11:23 Beginning to leave the Macri-Cristina grieta in the rearview mirror is a necessary condition for progress.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Knowledge Economy Undersecretary María Apólito.

INTERVIEW

María Apólito: ‘Argentina must export more intellectual property and patents'

17-07-2021 10:55 Argentina's software industry employs around 120,000 people. The government wants to raise that figure to half a million by 2030. Biotechnology and satellites targeted as other areas of high potential, says government’s Knowledge Economy Undersecretary María Apólito.

by Leandro Dario

A field, sown with soy, in Buenos Aires Province.

AGRICULTURE & ENVIRONMENT

Is Argentina’s soy boom over?

17-07-2021 10:44 Driven by incentives and environmental concerns, farmers are choosing maize and wheat over what used to be Argentina’s star grain crop.

by Jorgelina Hiba, Diálogo Chino

Economist, ex-economy and foreign minister, lawmaker and former Central Bank chief Domingo Cavallo spoke to Perfil co-founder Jorge Fontevecchia in an exclusive interview.

INTERVIEW / PERIODISMO PURO

Domingo Cavallo: ‘It'd be good if the government had a bad election’

17-07-2021 09:18 Economist, former government minister and ex-Central Bank chief warns that Argentina’s economy is “very badly oriented” and calls for a “major reorganisation.”

by Jorge Fontevecchia

Protesters rally outside the Cuban Embassy in Belgrano, Buenos Aires, earlier this week.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

What we learned this week: July 10 to 17

17-07-2021 00:28 A selection of stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

A demonstrator is arrested in Cuba in July 2021.

BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS

Cuba protests fanned by worst economic crisis since fall of USSR

16-07-2021 03:00 Cuba's deepest economic crisis since the collapse of the Soviet Union, a spike in Covid-19 infections, power blackouts and increased use of social media all helped fan discontent with the 62-year-old communist regime.

IMF DEBT TALKS

IMF negotiating EFF programme with Argentina, says spokesperson

16-07-2021 01:48 International Monetary Fund and Argentina are negotiating an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told the press on Thursday.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

INDEC: Prices have risen by 50.2% over last 12 months

15-07-2021 17:56 Inflation in June reached 3.2%, according to government data, meaning prices have risen by 25.4% in the last six months in Argentina.

A shopper checks prices in a supermarket in Buenos Aires.

BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS

Inflation slows for third month to below forecast

15-07-2021 17:27 From a year ago, inflation reached 50.2%, the highest annual rate since early 2020, according to government data.

A man is inoculated with the Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19 at the Lumiere movie theatre in Rosario, Santa Fe Province, on March 26, 2021.

BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS

Government struggles to fully vaccinate population as deaths rise

15-07-2021 14:55 Argentina is facing large delays in its inoculation programme against Covid-19, with experts cautioning for a change in strategy as virus deaths top 100,000.

Bloomberg

Argentina spawns another FX rate as government clamps down

15-07-2021 14:49 Government steps to regain control over Argentina’s chaotic currency market has led a new unofficial exchange rate to rise to prominence.

Patients suffering from Covid-19 remain in the ICU of the San Roque Hospital in Córdoba, Argentina, on July 06, 2021.

Coronavirus pandemic

Nation surpasses grim landmark

14-07-2021 21:25 Sixteen months and 11 days after the first case of Covid-19 was recorded on national territory, Argentina on Wednesday became the fifth Latin American country to reach the grim landmark of 100,000 deaths.

Handout photo released by the Presidency shows containers that form part of a shipment of 550,000 Sputnik V second component doses of Covid-19 vaccine, upon their arrival from Moscow, Russia, at Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, on July 12, 2021.

Coronavirus pandemic

Argentina marks sombre milestone of 100,000 virus deaths

14-07-2021 20:51 Argentina reached a sombre milestone in its fight to control the pandemic as deaths caused by Covid-19 crossed 100,000 on Wednesday afternoon.

Alberto Fernández and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

MIDTERMS 2021

Alberto and Cristina reunite to chart economic course for campaign

14-07-2021 14:27 President Alberto Fernández and Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner huddled with Santiago Cafiero, Martín Guzmán and Axel Kicillof recently at the Olivos presidential residence. Sides agreed on no more austerity in order to inject money into upcoming electoral tussle.

by Rosario Ayerdi

MSU Energy SA General Rojo natural gas plant in General Rojo, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.

Bloomberg

Yields topping 14% lure investors to world’s best utility bond

14-07-2021 10:14 The world’s best performing utility bonds come from an unlikely corner of emerging markets – Argentina.

Citigroup Inc plans to exit Venezuela by selling its remaining business there, ending more than a century of operating in the South American country.

LATIN AMERICA

Citigroup to exit Venezuela after more than a century of operations

14-07-2021 09:51 Citigroup plans to exit Venezuela by selling its remaining business there, ending more than a century of operating in the South American country.

President Alberto Fernández and Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof meet pensioners at an event in Lomas de Zamora on Tuesday.

ONE-OFF BONUS

83% of pensioners to receive 5,00-peso payment in August

13-07-2021 21:54 ANSES chief Fernanda Raverta announces that more than six million retirees and pensioners will receive a one-off payment next month to compensate for drop in purchasing power.

Economy Minister Martin Guzmán meets with IMF officials in Venice last week.

IMF DEBT TALKS

Guzmán and IMF hold ‘productive’ talks over financing programme

13-07-2021 13:51 Officials from Argentina’s government and the International Monetary Fund hold “productive” talks over a new financing programme on the sidelines of G20 summit in Venice.

Securities regulator steps in

Argentina imposes new restrictions on parallel exchange rates

11-07-2021 08:31 Government moves to limit operations in the parallel exchange rate known as the blue-chip swap rate.

Economy Minister Martín Guzmán meets with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

IMF DEBT TALKS

Guzmán discusses IMF debt With US Treasury Secretary Yellen during G20 meeting

10-07-2021 18:53 Economy Minister Martín Guzmán says he had a “valuable” discussion about IMF debt with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

People queue to enter to the Teatro Colón, before the start of a concert by the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, in Buenos Aires, on July 2, 2021, during its reopening.

Coronavirus pandemic

Government extends existing Covid restrictions until August 6

10-07-2021 08:44 Alberto Fernández administration extends decree enforcing Covid-19 restrictions and health protocols until August 6. Officials concerned by potential spread of Delta variant. 600-person quota for arrivals set to be relaxed.

BIG TECH

Is Facebook a monopoly? A few ideas to help the FTC out…

10-07-2021 08:20 For anyone operating in the same digital ecosystem as Facebook, it is painstakingly clear that Zuckerberg’s creation has excessive market power and uses it to its own benefit. The same can be said about Google and a few other Silicon Valley giants.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Patricia Bullrich attended the Independence Day protests, dressed as a gaucho and arriving on horseback.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

What we learned this week: July 3 to 10

10-07-2021 00:01 A selection of stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

INTERVIEW / PERIODISMO PURO

Hugo Moyano: ‘We’ve always defended workers to the death’

09-07-2021 20:32 Veteran teamster and union leader Hugo Moyano riffs on his meteoric rise through the labour movement, relationships with Argentina’s presidents and why he is targeted for being on the side of the worker.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

Passengers of regular flights arrive at Ezeiza airport on March 17, 2020.

Coronavirus pandemic

Government retains 600-person cap on travellers

09-07-2021 17:24 The government is set to decree the same restrictions against the coronavirus pandemic in order to keep its Delta variant at bay, including a daily entry cap of 600 Argentines coming from abroad.

Handout photo released by Presidency shows President Alberto Fernández (centre) talking next to Foreign Minister Felipe Sola (right) and Productive Development Minister Matías Kulfas during a Mercosur Summit from the Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires on July 8, 2021.

MERCOSUR IN DISARRAY

Mercosur’s glitch-plagued summit puts spotlight on trade divide

09-07-2021 02:58 Luis Lacalle Pou's new trade strategy unable to win broad support among bloc's members. Parallel initiative backed by Brazil and Uruguay to reduce Mercosur's common external tariff also fails to advance.

Buenos Aires City Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta.

Coronavirus pandemic

City Hall loosens Covid restrictions on gatherings, outdoor events

09-07-2021 01:41 Buenos Aires City government authorises meetings of up to 20 people outdoors and says offices can now be at 30% capacity. Starting next month, cultural events will be allowed, with a 1,000-person cap on attendance.

COURTS

Correo Argentina reacts to bankruptcy ruling

09-07-2021 00:25 Correo Argentino on Tuesday reacted to a court ruling confirming its bankruptcy with predictably strong criticism.

A healthcare worker administers a dose of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine in Santiago, Chile, on March 29.

Global pandemic

Chile relaxes restrictions for the vaccinated as Covid cases drop

08-07-2021 22:07 Chile is making headway in controlling an outbreak that swamped hospitals and prompted authorities to temporarily reimpose liockdowns. Cases have dropped by 39% in the past 14 days.

Trader Gregory Rowe, left, and specialist Peter Giacchi work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Stock Market

US stocks fall amid worries over growth, Delta strain

08-07-2021 11:53 Wall Street stocks tumbled, threatening global growth due to bond yields and increasing prevalence of the Covid-19 Delta variant.

Startups

Venture capital surge delivers record for 'unicorn births'

08-07-2021 11:41 According to a report by US-based firms, startups globally raised $156 billion between April and June, the highest level in a decade for the second quarter.

The national flag flies outside the Casa Rosada.

BLOOMBERG

Argentina's industry posts worst drop since beginning of pandemic

07-07-2021 22:01 Manufacturing sector posts worst decline in more than a year, reinforcing analysts' view that the economy contracted in the second quarter.