News of economy

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

Argentina bond rout blows up the template for debt restructuring

Yesterdat 20:40 Investors are giving up on Argentina, just six weeks after the government pulled off a US$65-billion restructuring.

OCTOBER 17 ANNIVERSARY

Fernández vows to put Argentina ‘back on its feet’ in Peronist loyalty day speech

Yesterdat 16:24 President Alberto Fernández told his political backers and supporters on Saturday that he wants to rid Argentina of “hatred” and put the country “back on its feet.”

Business departure?

French multinational Danone announces strategic review of activities in Argentina

Yesterdat 09:43 French food multinational Danone plans biggest shake-up in years with portfolio review; changes could involve sale of Vega protein powder brand as well as a unit in Argentina.

World wine production rebounded in 2018 to the highest in 15 years.

Wine industry

More sales, less profits: Glass half-full for Argentine wine producers

Yesterdat 08:00 In the first nine months of 2020, local wine producers boosted exports by 40.57% compared to last year, with domestic consumption also on the rise. But the glass remains half-empty – lower prices, the rise of cheaper labels and economic crisis have all hurt profitability.

Mar del Plata has become an epicentre in a coronavirus surge through Argentina's interior that has given it the fifth-highest confirmed case total in the world.

Coronavirus pandemic

Covid-19 hits Mar del Plata, as pandemic surges in Argentina

Yesterdat 07:00 Mar del Plata has become an epicentre in a coronavirus surge through Argentina's interior that has given the country the fifth-highest confirmed case total in the world.

President Fernandez and Kristalina Georgieva.

IMF MISSION TEAM DEPARTS

IMF predicts 11.8% GDP slump, says talks will start in November

17-10-2020 10:18 IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva says Argentina needs “a credible and comprehensive economic agenda that balances supporting the economy and people in this difficult time.”

IDEA colloquium has gone virtual due to the pandemic.

56th IDEA colloquium

Fernández rules out devaluation, bank-deposit freeze at IDEA

17-10-2020 10:13 Peronist leader sticks to his guns over government policies, telling business leaders that his government is “convinced that this is the path.”

A group of pacific demonstrators during the last protest against the government.

THE WEEK IN ARGENTINA

What we learned this week: October 10 to 17

17-10-2020 10:05 A round-up of stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

EU-MERCOSUR DEAL

EU parks trade deal with Mercosur over environmental concerns

17-10-2020 09:56 More than 15 months ago, then-president Mauricio Macri hailed the sealing of the Mercosur bloc’s historic trade agreement with the European Union. Today, as European nations express environmental concerns, ratification isn’t even close to starting.

by Fermin Koop

POLITICS & THE PANDEMIC

Macri rides protest wave

17-10-2020 09:28 Protesting is a right. Trying to figure out the significance of a specific protest is another matter.

by Martín Gambarotta

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

PERIODISMO PURO | INTERVIEW

Sergio Chodos: ‘The intention is to ask the IMF for financing in order to leave it’

17-10-2020 08:57 The visit of a mission team from the International Monetary Fund has begun a new chapter for Argentina and its deteriorating economy. Sergio Chodos, Executive Director for the Southern Cone at the IMF and the official perhaps closest to Economy Minister Martín Guzmán, says the government is seeking an agreement with the Fund, in order not to depend on it any longer.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

FINANCIAL TURBULENCE

Blue dollar soars again to close week at 178 pesos

17-10-2020 08:30 Dolár blue has risen by 11 pesos in past week alone, closing week at record high amid continued financial uncertainty.

President Alberto Fernández delivers a speech at a YPF Vaca Muerta drilling site.

Energy

Fernández unveils plan to boost production at Vaca Muerta

17-10-2020 08:05 President Alberto Fernández says Argentina wants energy firms to invest some US$5 billion to boost hydrocarbon production and generate jobs in the country’s prized Vaca Muerta shale deposits.

President Alberto Fernández and Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (behind).

Bloomberg

Cracks surface in Argentina’s ruling coalition as crisis deepens

16-10-2020 11:13 Multiple rifts between different factions within Alberto Fernández's Frente de Todos coalition are coming to light, including including the president's more centrist bloc and the far-left supporters of powerful Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

Transport Minister Mario Meoni and Tourism & Sports Minister Matías Lammens confirm the return of flights to members of the press.

Coronavirus pandemic

Government approves return of domestic flights

16-10-2020 03:07 Transport Ministry authorises restricted return of domestic flights. Initially services limited to essential workers, exceptional circumstances and those needing medical treatment, with tourism and trips abroad unlikely before December at the earliest.

Supporters of Bolivian presidential candidate Carlos Mesa attend the closing rally of his campaign in Santa Cruz, Bolivia on October 13, 2020. General elections will take place in Bolivia on October 18, amid the new coronavirus pandemic.

BOLIVIAN ELECTION

Economic headache awaits victor in Bolivian election

14-10-2020 23:27 Bolivians go to the polls to elect a new president on Sunday, in the midst of the country's biggest economic crisis for 40 years.

The INDEC national statistics bureau, pictured in Buenos Aires.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

INDEC: Inflation 2.8% in September, 22.3% this year so far

14-10-2020 18:22 Consumer prices rose 2.8% in September, with the biggest increases in clothing and footwear and alcoholic beverages and tobacco.

BREXIT

Brexit talks' fate hangs in balance at EU summit

14-10-2020 17:38 Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared himself disappointed in the progress of post-Brexit trade talks Wednesday, but he will wait for news from an EU summit before deciding whether to pull the plug.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and World Bank Group President David Malpass bump elbows at the end of a joint press briefing on Covid-19 in Washington DC.

TALKS OVER IMF PROGRAMME

IMF: Argentina needs 'credible' plan to overcome crisis

14-10-2020 15:00 Argentina's "top priority ought to be to put in place a credible and comprehensive economic agenda that balances supporting the economy and people," says IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva.

Exchange rate

Fernández says no devaluation of peso on the way

14-10-2020 08:09 Argentina’s government is not going to devalue the peso, President Alberto Fernández said Tuesday night amid widespread speculation on the issue.

Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, attends a session on the first day of the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Friday, February 14, 2020.

Global pandemic

IMF envisions a sharp 4.4% drop in global growth for 2020

13-10-2020 11:39 International Monetary Fund predicts steep fall in international growth this year as the global economy struggles to recover from the pandemic-induced recession. Argentina's economy now forecast to contract by 11.8%.

Boeing Co. aircraft, operated by Aerolíneas Argentina SA, stand at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Monday, May 18, 2020.

TRAVEL & TOURISM

Argentina eyes return of regular commercial flights, initially at weekends

12-10-2020 18:40 Transport Ministry working on the possible return of commercial weekend flights, both domestic and international, after seven months of standstill due to the coronavirus pandemic.

BLOOMBERG

Oxfam says IMF loans force spending cuts that exacerbate poverty

12-10-2020 12:39 The vast majority of International Monetary Fund loans extended during the Covid-19 pandemic have suggested or demanded spending cuts that would worsen poverty and inequality, charity group Oxfam says.

Members of the IMF's mission team, pictured during a meeting with Economy Minister Martín Guzmán and Central Bank chief Miguel Ángel Pesce..

IMF DEBT TALKS

IMF to launch talks on new loan for Argentina in November

12-10-2020 12:23 The International Monetary Fund says in a statement it will initiate talks with the government on a new rescue package in mid-November.

Cracked earth is exposed in the riverbed of the Paraguay River in Chaco-i near Asuncion city, Paraguay, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020. The Paraguay River reached its lowest level in 50 years on Friday, Oct. 9, 2020, following months of extreme drought that has exposed the nation’s economic dependence on the river and limited access to drinking water.

ENVIRONMENT & ECONOMY

Drought depletes Paraguay River, a country's lifeline

12-10-2020 12:14 The Paraguay River has reached its lowest level in half a century after months of extreme drought in the region, exposing the vulnerability of a landlocked economy.

Peter Fredriksson, Chairman of the Committee for Economic Sciences, left, Goran K. Hansson, Permanent Secretary for the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, center, and Tommy Andersson, member in The Prize Committee for the Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences announce the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel for 2020 at a press conference in Stockholm, Monday Oct. 12, 2020.

Nobel prizes

Stanford economists win Nobel prize for improving auctions

12-10-2020 12:05 US economists Paul R. Milgrom and Robert B. Wilson have won the Nobel Prize in Economics for "improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats."

Latin America

Brazil-US turbulence ahead in case of Biden victory

11-10-2020 17:27 Diplomatic relations between Brazil and the United States are likely to become more turbulent in the event of a Joe Biden victory in November.

Financial turmoil

Fernández: Currency market is messy, it needs order

11-10-2020 17:22 In the wide-ranging interview with El Cohete a la Luna, president says Argentina's currency market is messy and must be “ordered.”

Argentina and Ecuador's paths have diverged since successful debt restructuring deals.

BLOOMBERG - OPINION

El-Erian: Argentina and Ecuador diverge after bond restructurings

11-10-2020 09:18 A month after finalising historic “zoom” debt restructurings, Argentina and Ecuador find themselves on starkly different paths toward economic and financial improvements.

Street scene in Buenos Aires, during the coronavirus pandemic.

Bloomberg

Argentina expands tech companies’ incentives amid recovery push

10-10-2020 20:35 Government expands benefits to its burgeoning tech sector in an effort to boost much-needed foreign investment and exports.

The government’s target is to boost exports from US$65 billion to US$100 billion annually.

BUSINESS

Currency controls hit private companies in Argentina

10-10-2020 10:11 Capital controls were already a headache for private companies, but more drastic measures obliging firms to restructure their debts has delivered an even harder blow.

FINANCE

Analysts keep eye on reserves as uncertainty pushes blue dollar to 160

10-10-2020 10:05 Central Bank buys dollars for first time since mid-September, as uncertainty pushes blue dollar sky-high.

Miguel Pesce, Martín Guzmán and Sergio Chodos meet with IMF saff Julie Kozack and Luis Cubeddu.

IMF TALKS

Fernández, Georgieva ‘confident’ Argentina will seal new IMF deal

10-10-2020 10:01 Officials on both sides say all the right things as first visit of IMF mission team passes off without incident. Kristalina Georgieva says Fund has "no intention of putting pressure on Argentina at this time."

THE WEEK

What we learned this week: October 3 to 10

10-10-2020 09:56 Our pick of the stories from the last seven days in Argentina.

The ruling coalition is suddenly hit by turbulence too.

POLITICS & THE PANDEMIC

Coalitions or collisions?

10-10-2020 09:27 It’s too early to tell if this stress will snowball into a breakdown leading to, say, a sweeping Cabinet reshuffle sponsored by the Kirchnerites, forcing out members of the president's inner circle.

by Martín Gambarotta

FOREIGN (AND DOMESTIC) POLICY

Venezuela: Argentina's old/new problem

10-10-2020 09:07 It doesn’t really matter whether Cristina is calling the shots, whether her henchmen are acting independently, or if Alberto is acting out of his own accord, trying to please his vice-president and keep his coalition united. The end result is the same: increased uncertainty, which ultimately feeds Argentina’s risk thermometer: the dollar-peso exchange rate.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Education Minister Nicolás Trotta leads a videoconference meeting about the re-opening of schools in Argentina.

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Education officials authorise return of classes under ‘traffic light’ scheme

10-10-2020 08:39 Federal Education Council unanimously approves re-opening of classrooms in educational institutions, subject to the discretion of each district.

BLOOMBERG

Argentina’s currency woes show no sign of easing

10-10-2020 08:31 Argentina’s hodge podge exchange rate regime is running out of steam.

President Alberto Fernandez, flanked by provincial governors Gerardo Morales (Jujuy), Omar Perotti (Santa Fe) and Omar Gutiérrez (Neuquén), announces the new rules.

Coronavirus pandemic

Fernández puts 14-day restrictions on movement in 18 provinces

10-10-2020 08:28 Government to tighten measures restricting the movement of people in 18 provinces for two weeks, as Covid-19 infections and fatalities continue to break new records.

monetary policy

Central Bank moves to unify interest rates

09-10-2020 11:27 Central Bank is taking steps to tighten its monetary policy and encourage banks to buy local peso assets.

A wheat field in Ramallo, Buenos Aires Province.

Agriculture

Argentina becomes first country to approve genetically modified wheat

08-10-2020 19:42 Argentina, the fourth largest wheat exporter in the world, has become the first country in the world to approve the commercialisation of a variety of transgenic wheat.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Industry down 7.1% in August year-on-year, says INDEC

08-10-2020 19:22 Around 54 percent of local manufacturers operated normally in August, with 45.9% working only partially or inactive, says INDEC.

BLOOMBERG

Economic recovery stalls with industry declining

08-10-2020 15:18 Industrial production fell 0.9% in August compared to July and 7.1% from the previous year, according to official data.

Cabinet Chief Santiago Cafiero addresses the Senate.

SENATE ADDRESS

Cafiero confirms government wants to postpone IMF debt repayments

07-10-2020 17:56 In address to Senate, Cabinet Chief Santiago Cafiero confirms government will ask the International Monetary Fund to postpone scheduled repayments on a US$44-billion loan.

A view of the Uruguayan seaside resort of Punta del Este, 135 km east of Montevideo.

BLOOMBERG

Wealthy Argentines flee taxes, politics to settle in Uruguay

07-10-2020 17:01 Nearly half of the 504 Argentines who’ve taken up tax residency abroad this year have chosen Uruguay.

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro's populist push already has some investors smelling fiscal disaster.

BLOOMBERG – OPINION

Bolsonaro’s addiction to Covid cash could make Brazil go bust

07-10-2020 16:12 Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro's populist push already has some investors smelling fiscal disaster.

by Mac Margolis

A homeless women sleep outside on a mattress in the City barrio of Villa 31, during the government-ordered lockdown to curb the spread of the new coronavirus in Argentina.

Global pandemic

Up to 150 million could join extreme poor, warns World Bank

07-10-2020 15:40 Up to 150 million people could slip into extreme poverty, living on less than US$1.90 a day, by late next year, says World Bank.

Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), speaks during a virtual press conference, as seen on a smartphone in Arlington, Virginia, United States, on Wednesday, April 15, 2020.

IMF TEAM IN TOWN

IMF vows not to put 'pressure' on Argentina over loan

07-10-2020 00:52 Kristalina Georgieva says IMF has "no intention of putting pressure on Argentina at this time," as negotiators from Fund arrive in Buenos Aires for talks.

HUNT FOR VACCINE

Swiss regulator looking at AstraZeneca-Oxford virus vaccine

06-10-2020 14:58 Swiss authorities said Tuesday they had begun assessing AstraZeneca and Oxford University's Covid-19 vaccine – the first such treatment submitted for authorisation in the country.

The Trump administration increased pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Thursday, June 18, targeting a lifeline he's used for selling crude oil run by a close associate of the socialist leader who was recently jailed in Cape Verde.

CRISIS IN VENEZUELA

Control of Venezuelan gold held in London cast into doubt

05-10-2020 17:07 British court throws in question who controls nearly US$2 billion in Venezuelan gold stowed in a London bank vault amid a power struggle between President Nicolás Maduro and US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó.

BLOOMBERG

Argentina’s new obsession is watching foreign reserves evaporate

05-10-2020 16:14 At brokerages and banks, the calls come in every day with the same question: How many dollars does the Central Bank actually have?

IMF DEBT TALKS

IMF team arrives in Argentina with Fernández seeking deal ASAP

05-10-2020 10:07 President Alberto Fernández says he’s seeking an agreement with Fund “as soon as possible,” in order to "clear up any doubts.”

Members of the Federal Police stand guard at a checkpoint in 'La Granada,' a violent neighbourhood in Rosario on October 1, 2020.

CRIME & SECURITY

Crime spirals out of control in troubled Rosario

05-10-2020 00:01 Rosario, Argentina’s third-largest city, has been suffering for years from escalating violence and the proliferation of drug gangs.

Firefighters work to put out in fires in Villa Giardino, Córdoba Province, Tuesday, September 22, 2020.

ARGENTINA ABLAZE

Government eyes bill to limit commercial use of fire-destroyed land

04-10-2020 23:07 Frente de Todos proposes bill that would prevent agricultural and real-estate firms from benefitting from destruction and clearance of land devastated by fire.

US PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

A debate with only lowlights

03-10-2020 09:58 The debate changed nothing, except to diminish the country’s dignity just a little bit more

A woman puts some parsley on the stairs of Palace of Justice in Argentina.

THE WEEK

What we learned this week: September 26 to October 3

03-10-2020 09:40 The pick of stories that caught our eye over the last seven days.

It is a sad reflection on a general resignation to economic decline that this confirmation of massive poverty failed to act as a national wake-up call in most circles.

EDITORIAL

The poverty trap

03-10-2020 09:27 It is a sad reflection on a general resignation to economic decline that this confirmation of massive poverty failed to act as a national wake-up call in most circles.

On the left, Malvina and Delia Rodriguez. On the right, Cook Azucena Chaile, comedor regular Emilio Olmos and Ines Garcia.

POVERTY & THE PANDEMIC

Argentina’s poorest struggle in face of crisis, pandemic

03-10-2020 09:06 More than 45% of people living in Salta City are now considered poor. With jobs few and far between and incomes going down the drain, the poverty-stricken are being forced to adapt in their struggle to survive.

by Nick Evans

Cabinet Chief Santiago Caifero, Economy Minister Martín Guzmán, Productive Development Minister Matías Kulfas and Agriculture Minister Luis Basterra unveil new announcements at a press conference at the Casa Rosada.

Economic policy

Government cuts reduces key export taxes for agriculture, mining

02-10-2020 11:09 Government to reduce export taxes on several key commodities over the next three months, in an effort to boost dollar inflows as Central Bank reserves decline.

Bloomberg

Government to devalue peso faster while it fights reserves drop

01-10-2020 23:09 The Central Bank will end a policy of “uniform devaluation” and allow greater volatility, according to a statement sent by the institution led by Miguel Pesce after hours Thursday.

Bloomberg

Google will pay publishers for news content to avoid regulation

01-10-2020 15:24 Alphabet Inc.’s Google will start paying select media outlets to display curated content on its news app in a concession to the industry which has accused the search engine and other tech giants of unfairly using content for years.

BLOOMBERG

IMF sounds debt warning as it offers rethink on restructurings

01-10-2020 15:17 IMF sounds a warning over rising global debt levels and proposed reforms to the debt-restructuring process for countries that struggle to meet their obligations.

A family sits outside a makeshift home at a squatters camp in Guernica, Buenos Aires Province.

Poverty

Pandemic’s impact laid bare as poverty rises to 40.9%

30-09-2020 19:33 INDEC national statistics bureau says poverty rose to 40.9 percent in the first half of year, with more than 18 million people in Argentina considered poor.

The CGT celebrated its 90th anniversary last Sunday.

UNION PROFILE

CGT leadership calls for 'strength and unity' on 90th anniversary

30-09-2020 17:36 The CGT umbrella labour confederation marked its 90th anniversary in understated and unified fashion on Sunday, with the heavyweight union grouping’s elections postponed until next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Backdropped by a painting of independence leader Simon Bolivar, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro gives a press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Caracas, Venezuela.

CRISIS IN VENEZUELA

Venezuela's oil revenue collapses 99% in six years, says Maduro

30-09-2020 09:31 Venezuela's oil revenue has collapsed 99% over the last six years, President Nicolás Maduro said, blaming financial sanctions put in place by the US for much of the loss.

An evening harvest in Buenos Aires Province.

Bloomberg

Government mulls temporary cut on some crop export taxes

29-09-2020 17:16 Government weighing temporary reduction on some export taxes to boost dollar inflows, Bloomberg reports.

In a country where distrust of banks makes people more likely to stuff cash under a mattress than in a checking account, the Ualá mobile banking app has made inroads. Now it's looking to Mexico.

BLOOMBERG

Billionaire-backed Argentine fintech Ualá launches in Mexico

29-09-2020 15:30 Ualá, the mobile payments startup backed by heavyweight billionaire investors George Soros and Steve Cohen, expands beyond Argentina into Mexico.

In this September 24, 2020, file photo, cemetery workers place the coffin containing the remains of Jose de Arimateia, 65, who died from COVID-19 complications, into a niche at the municipal cemetery in Nova Iguacu, Brazil.

Global pandemic

Worldwide death toll from coronavirus eclipses one million

29-09-2020 00:45 The worldwide death toll from the coronavirus has eclipsed one million, nine months into a crisis that has devastated the global economy, pitted science against politics and forced us to change the way we live, learn and work.

Argentina’s coronavirus fight is taking a turn for the worse as the nation that implemented one of region's strictest lockdowns sees deaths surge anyway.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Economic activity slumped 12.6% in first seven months of 2020

29-09-2020 00:23 New data from INDEC national statistics bureau shows economic activity fell 13.2 percent in July, compared to the same month of previous year.

People walk along a pedestrian street in downtown Santiago, on September 28, 2020. The Chilean capital, home to 7,1 million out of the 18 million inhabitants of the country, started Monday an almost total deconfinement phase after seven months, with caution against a possible upturn in contagions.

Global pandemic

Millions in Chile capital emerge from lockdown

28-09-2020 19:17 Chile on Monday lifted strict coronavirus lockdown measures for millions of people in the capital Santiago, a month ahead of a key referendum to amend the dictatorship-era constitution.