News of growth

Weighed down by an entitlement culture

06-02-2021 09:50 Will Argentina be able to prosper in the brave new world that is coming our way? Not unless she manages to change lanes in the near future. As things stand, this is most unlikely to happen.

by James Neilson

TAMING INFLATION

Alberto’s 21st-century agenda?

30-01-2021 07:18 In order to imagine an avant garde agenda worthy of the 21st century, Argentina needs to fix its 20th-century problems.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Economic forecasts

IMF boosts world growth outlook as vaccines outweigh risks

26-01-2021 12:32 IMF improves forecast for global growth this year to 5.5%, betting the rollout of coronavirus vaccines and more fiscal stimulus will offset the immediate challenge posed by the resurgent pandemic.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Economy posts sixth straight month of growth post Covid-Plunge

26-12-2020 10:25 Argentina’s economy continued to recover slowly from its historic Covid-19 plunge earlier this year, posting the sixth straight month of growth.

ECLAC Projection

UN slashes LatAm economic slowdown projection

16-12-2020 16:06 Executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Alicia Bárcena predicts the region will experience growth of 3.7 percent in 2021.

RECKLESSNESS

Cristina, Macri and Alberto - all of them took on debt

21-11-2020 08:38 Everyone loves to play the blame game, but let’s get one thing straight for the record: former presidents Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Mauricio Macri both took on debt – and so has Alberto Fernández.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

DRUG LAWS

Argentina legalises growing of cannabis for medical use by individuals

12-11-2020 18:31 By decree, the government legalises home cultivation of cannabis for medical use by individuals and small networks, as well as the sale of creams and oils made from the plant in pharmacies.

BLOOMBERG

Latin America’s winners and losers in US vote: Election guide

27-10-2020 13:45 Firms from Mexico, Brazil and Argentina are some of the Latin American stocks whose outlook is tied in part to the outcome of next Tuesday's US election.

REGIONAL OUTLOOK

Latin America won’t see pre-virus growth until 2023, IMF says

22-10-2020 18:00 Most countries in Latin America will be unable to return to their pre-pandemic growth levels until 2023, says the IMF.

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."

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.

Budget proposal

Fernández's first Budget projects 5.5% growth in 2021

16-09-2020 01:17 Government's budget bill forecast for 2021: economic growth of 5.5%, primary fiscal deficit of 4.5%, inflation at 29% and 102 pesos per dollar.

GUEST COLUMN

Quo vadis, Argentina?

15-08-2020 10:37 A guide to undering Argentina’s incomparable decline and what can we learn from the shortcomings of the Macri administration’s reforms.

by Nicolas Rodriguez-Brizuela

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

UK LAWSUIT

Argentina loses bid to throw out US$738-million hedge-fund lawsuit

21-07-2020 22:45 Argentina has lost an attempt to dismiss a UK lawsuit filed by four hedge funds alleging that the country manipulated economic data to avoid making payments for securities linked to its growth.

BLOOMBERG - OPINION

Good behaviour won't deliver Argentina from economic pain

03-06-2020 15:50 Argentina deserves debt relief, but also a credible way forward. The country still needs a path to growth, new investment and the prospect of fiscal reasonableness beyond the pandemic – and that is where the road map ends.

by Mac Margolis

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.

Debt talks & Covid-19

Pandemic poses perfect storm scenario for Argentine debt

16-03-2020 08:05 The global downturn, and the crisis caused by the coronavirus, could yet strangely benefit Argentina, according to some economists.

AS I SEE IT

Growth put on the backburner

29-02-2020 11:33 When in opposition, Peronists and others with broadly similar points of view like to pretend that the country is several times richer than the available data would suggest.

by James Neilson

URUGUAY FRONTIERS

Uruguay's president-elect Lacalle Pou eager to attract foreigners

25-02-2020 18:41 Luis Lacalle Pou expresses determination to open up borders, so that thousands of foreigners can settle in his country. Uruguay's incoming leader also says nation will change position on Venezuela crisis.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Argentina's shrank 2.1% in 2019, reports INDEC

21-02-2020 18:00 Argentina's recession-hit economy shrank by 2.1 percent in 2019, the INDEC national statistics bureau announced Friday.

MINING

Barrick Gold, Shandong invest in Veladero mine in San Juan

14-02-2020 14:08 Barrick Gold and Shandong Gold are pursuing three strategic projects with the aim of extending the useful life of the Veladero mine until at least 2030: investment, employment and growth.

Bloomberg

Big oil warned Trump team China trade deal was 'unrealistic'

13-02-2020 14:16 Industry leaders and advisers privately warned the Trump administration that the US will struggle to produce energy products that China has committed to buy in a new trade deal, raising doubts about one of the president’s signature economic achievements.

Bloomberg

Diplomatic dance: Solá heads to Brazil for meeting with Bolsonaro, Araujo

12-02-2020 08:15 Foreign minister hoping his Brazilian counterparts are also looking to turn a page, as region's top economics seek to heal diplomatic wounds.

US GROWTH

Trump rejoices at the surge in job creation, adding 225,000 posts

07-02-2020 20:32 The US economy saw an explosion of new hiring in January. President Donald Trump, who has emerged intact from his impeachment trial, can now trumpet his economic record as he battles to win re-election in November.

Bloomberg

Brazil looks to India as trade with Argentina deteriorates

15-01-2020 23:26 Brazil sees a huge potential for its exports of food and commodities, and a chance to increase its US$7 billion in annual bilateral trade with India to US$25 billion in the next few years.

BLOOMBERG

Blow for Fernández as crop windfall slips away

09-12-2019 13:42 President-elect needs all the help he can get to pull the country out of recession and make good on bond payments. But he faces a speed bump from the crop industry.

ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

World Bank: Slowdown in Latin America 'more self-inflicted than imported'

10-10-2019 15:19 World Bank predicts Argentina's economic contraction will deepen this year to 3.1%.

FINANCIAL POLICY

Brazilian Central Bank cuts interest rate to record low

19-09-2019 16:30 Monetary authority slashes interest rates to a record low 5.5% for the second time in less than two months, as Latin America's biggest economy expresses concerns over "more intense slowdown in the global economy."

BUDGET PROPOSAL

Lacunza admits economic results have been 'lower than expected'

16-09-2019 17:35 Addressing Congress, where he was presenting the government's draft 2020 Budget proposal, the new minister put the record down to a "combination of inheritance, miscoordination and external factors."

ECONOMIC POLICY

Argentina must drive demand to boost economy, says Alberto Fernández

09-09-2019 07:30 Frente de Todos leader says businesses who risk capital need their investments to pay off because that creates jobs. But those investments won’t happen if there is poverty, he explains in an interview.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Latin America set for feeble growth of 0.5% in 2019, says UN

31-07-2019 17:31 Crisis in Venezuela will drag down the region's performance, predicts CEPAL, which also points to expected 1.8 percent shrinkage in Argentina's economy.

Signs of recovery

Argentine economy grows 2.6 percent in May due to boost from harvest

26-07-2019 16:41 The positive figures broke 12 consecutive months of economic recession and is a major victory for president Macri who faces a tight reelection campaign.