News of debt

Unemployment, the other pandemic

Today 10:15 Will this relentless agitation unleash the kind of volatility that rattles the very standing of the government, less than a year after winning the elections?

by Martín Gambarotta

THE WEEK

What we learned this week: September 19 to 26

Today 09:29 Our pick of the stories from the last seven days in Argentina.

LA GRIETA

What we've got here is failure to communicate

Today 09:13 There are at least two major elements to conducting public policy: the construction and execution of successful strategic plans and their communication, in order to generate the correct expectations.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

AS I SEE IT

The incredible shrinking peso

Today 08:58 The desperate attempts that are being made to keep the dollar out of arm’s reach are bound to prove counterproductive; it is the government’s way of inadvertently warning people that, yet again, the economy is going under.

by James Neilson

PERIODISMO PURO | INTERVIEW

Miguel Pesce: ‘A dollar at 130 pesos would inflict unbearable levels of poverty’

Today 08:45 Following a week of difficult announcements, Central Bank chief Miguel Pesce sits down for a feature-length interview to explain the government’s logic in what he describes as “very arduous situation, aggravated by the action of speculators.” Nevertheless, Pesce remains optimistic over 2021 growth, lower inflation and export possibilities.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

Bloomberg

Mendoza Province said to win majority support for debt swap

22-09-2020 18:02 Mendoza set to become first provincial government to successfully reach a deal to restructure its own foreign debt, following in footsteps of national government.

BLOOMBERG

Argentina’s new bonds plunge deep into distressed territory

21-09-2020 17:11 Argentina’s new dollar bonds have plunged back into distressed territory just two weeks after the nation restructured almost US$65 billion in debt.

CAPITAL CONTROLS

Fernandez defends new currency controls as blue dollar soars

19-09-2020 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.

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.

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.

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

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

Investors welcome debt deal amid grim economic outlook

31-08-2020 22:54 Investors are caught between relief over Argentina’s debt deal and concern over the grim economic reality facing the country.

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.

POLITICS & THE PANDEMIC

Protest or PRO test?

22-08-2020 10:10 The uproar surrounding the court system reform is another test of the national government's resolve.

by Martín Gambarotta

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Creditors reiterate support for debt swap

22-08-2020 10:05 Ad Hoc Group of Argentina Exchange Bondholders says members will be entering Argentina’s debt swap proposal to the tune of almost US$5 billion on Monday.

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

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Creditors reiterate support for Argentina’s debt restructuring offer

18-08-2020 16:08 Two of three main bondholder groups confirm they will accede to revised proposal, which was filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.

BLOOMBERG

Bond traders are already betting on Argentina’s next default

18-08-2020 10:58 In the next few weeks, officials will put the finishing touches on a bond restructuring deal and bring an end to the ninth default in the country’s history. Bond traders are already bracing for the 10th...

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Government files official debt offer with SEC, extends deadline

17-08-2020 14:50 Amended debt restructuring offer filed with US Securities and Exchange Commission, extending deadline for investors to accept until August 28.

EDITORIAL

A crisis of diagnosis

15-08-2020 11:10 Opposition to judicial reform is not enough – it must be accompanied by calls for state reform.

IMF CREDIT-LINE

IMF: Argentina has not yet requested new financing programme

15-08-2020 11:00 President Fernández says in interview that he will not allow Fund to impose austerity measures as part of a new financing programme.

INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

Trump's pick for IDB top job slams Argentina's 'obstruction'

15-08-2020 10:14 Claver-Carone portrays himself as a breath of fresh air for an organisation that has had just four chiefs in six decades, but his eventual presidency would also mean breaking a non-written tradition where a Latin American heads this bank.

INTERVIEW / PERIODISMO PURO

Ricardo López Murphy: ‘Fernández inherited a much better situation than Macri did’

15-08-2020 09:49 Veteran politician, former economy and defence minister and 2003 presidential candidate Ricardo López Murphy on reform, inheritance, the deficit and why the coronavirus pandemic will produce the most severe recession in economic history.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

POLITICS & THE PANDEMIC

Vaccine ventures

15-08-2020 09:44 It's difficult to gain any kind of momentum during a pandemic. Yet there are some signs the government is regaining the initiative.

by Martín Gambarotta

BLOOMBERG

Argentina’s creditors will get better debt deals from provinces

14-08-2020 15:16 National government’s debt restructuring accord was a benchmark, setting a minimum, not a maximum for what investors can expect.

IMF DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Argentina will not accept any conditions from IMF, warns Fernández

11-08-2020 22:06 President Alberto Fernández says he will not allow the IMF to impose austerity measures on Argentina as part of a new financing programme.

BLOOMBERG

Government wants Buenos Aires Province to be first to seal debt deal

10-08-2020 16:39 Casa Rosada wants Buenos Aires Province to be the first to resolve debt restructuring talks, according to sources, denying creditors chance to demand better conditions.

BLOOMBERG - OPINION

For Argentina, reaching a debt deal was the easy part

10-08-2020 15:50 Many analysts foresee the IMF agreeing to reschedule the loan to its biggest debtor. Nonetheless, the Fund’s imprimatur will come with conditions.

by Mac Margolis

TIMELINE

How Argentina and its creditors reached a deal

08-08-2020 09:43 Agreement with bondholders brings months of negotiations to an end. Here’s how we got here.

CRISIS AHEAD?

Debt deal sealed, but Argentina’s economic woes remain

08-08-2020 09:36 Experts say deal with bondholders ‘takes pressure off’ the government, but warn renegotiating terms of US$44-billion loan with IMF is now the urgent concern.

LAST SEVEN DAYS

What we learned this week: August 1 to August 8

08-08-2020 09:31 Stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina

EDITORIAL

Debt deal – more relief than belief

08-08-2020 09:22 The quality of this haircut falling on interest rates way above recent levels rather than capital deserves praise, as does abandonment of the absurd three-year grace period exempting this administration from any payment.

DEBT DEAL

Inside the frenetic days that changed Argentina’s debt talks

08-08-2020 09:15 After many months of tension, talks that dragged on for eight months, half-a-dozen deadline extensions, multiple proposals, and tens of hours of online negotiations, a deal has been reached.

DEBT, DEFAULT. DEAL

Goodbye default my old friend

08-08-2020 08:44 The ultimate question is if this agreement will spare Argentina the ordeal of holdout bondholders – Guzmán will have conjured a miracle if there are none to worry about once this deal is done.

by Martín Gambarotta

BLOOMBERG

Argentina bonds are trading as if the pandemic never happened

07-08-2020 12:34 Debt accord has left the bonds trading at pre-pandemic levels, even as the country lacks the outline of a credible economic plan to get itself out of the current deep crisis.

BLOOMBERG

Government seeks to reach new IMF agreement before April

07-08-2020 00:49 Government seeks deal with the International Monetary Fund over a new financing programme before the end of March, in order to renegotiate US$2-billion payment owed to the Paris Club that matures in May.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

With debt deal done, Argentina must answer: What’s the plan?

05-08-2020 16:20 President Alberto Fernández’s next step is to start talks for a new International Monetary Fund programme against a harrowing backdrop.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING DEAL

Support – and silence – from opposition economists in wake of debt deal

05-08-2020 00:31 Luis Caputo the most effusive in celebrating the government's deal with creditors, while Hernán Lacunza and Lucas Llach also express support. Alfonso Prat-Gay, the former official who was most critical of the deal, leads the criticism.

by Andrés Fidanza

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Creditors 'pleased' with 'preliminary agreement' on debt restructuring

04-08-2020 23:43 IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva welcomes debt deal reached by Argentina and its creditors as a "very significant step."

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Economists praise debt deal but warn challenges on horizon

04-08-2020 18:38 Experts welcome government's agreement with creditors, but warn that Argentina must now correct imbalances and other issues.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

'We resolved an impossible debt,' declares delighted Fernández

04-08-2020 14:19 President Alberto Fernández hails government after officials confirm Argentina has reached an agreement with three major creditors over restructuring of US$66-billion debt.

DEBT DEAL AGREED

Government hails ‘significant debt relief’ in accord with creditors

04-08-2020 09:44 Deal involves the Ad Hoc, Argentina Creditor Committee and Exchange Bondholder groups, as well as "certain other significant holders," Economy Ministry confirms in a statement.

BLOOMBERG

Argentina, creditors inch closer on US$65-billion debt deal

03-08-2020 17:47 The sides have moved closer over the weekend and are discussing a deal where creditors would receive about 54.8 cents on the dollar, according to three people with direct knowledge of the talks.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Ecuador wins bondholders’ approval for debt restructuring

03-08-2020 15:26 Creditors vote in favour of a restructuring plan for US$17.4 billion of debt that will see the South American country's capital and interest payments reduced.

BLOOMBERG

Creditors seek international backing on debt clauses

02-08-2020 17:01 Bondholders approach several international organisations, including IMF and US Treasury, to seek endorsement for a proposal to change the rules that govern some of the country’s overseas securities.