News of pandemic

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Debt renegotiations to continue – with confidentiality agreements

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

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.

Global pandemic

As virus swamps Peru, Venezuelan migrants collect the dead

22-05-2020 13:30 Despite strict measures to control the coronavirus, Peru has become one of the countries worst hit by the Covid-19 disease. With more than 104,000 cases and 3,000 deaths, Peru was 12th in the world in numbers of confirmed diagnoses Wednesday, more than reported by China and just behind India.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Global pandemic

Brazil jumps to third highest tally of Covid-19 cases worldwide

19-05-2020 14:24 Brazil has also registered 16,792 Covid-19 deaths, the sixth-highest toll in the world. Experts say under-testing means the real figure could be 15 times higher or more.

Coronavirus pandemic

Villa 31 community leader's death from Covid-19 sparks anger

19-05-2020 02:22 Ramona Medina, key Villa 31 community leader and resident, dies just days after denouncing 12 days without drinking water in her barrio. 'La Garganta Poderosa' accuses authorities of failing to protect residents in vulnerable neighbourhoods.

Coronavirus pandemic

Trump reveals he is taking anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine

19-05-2020 00:39 Trump's latest remarks came out of the blue, immediately grabbing headlines on a day when US deaths from Covid-19 topped 90,000 people – almost a third of the total world toll.

Global pandemic

The Argentine priest on the Covid-19 front line in New York

18-05-2020 23:20 Reverend Fabian Arias, from Buenos Aires, is a Lutheran pastor at Saint Peter’s Church in Manhattan. He has has performed funeral services 14 times in the last two months.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Investigation on Bolsonaro's circle

Brazil's Bolsonaro denies shielding family from inquiries

13-05-2020 11:58 Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday denied that he attempted during a videotaped Cabinet meeting last month to shield his relatives and friends from federal police investigations.

Fight against pandemic

Brazilian cities lurch to lockdowns amid virus crisis red flags

13-05-2020 11:49 Faced with overwhelmed hospitals and surging coronavirus deaths, Brazilian state and city governments are lurching forward with mandatory lockdowns against the will of President Jair Bolsonaro, who says job losses are more damaging than COVID-19.

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.

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.

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.

Coronavirus pandemic

Pandemic politics costing lives in Brazil

12-05-2020 13:09 Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro keeps saying coronavirus fears are overblown. Other officials at the federal, state and local levels insist the danger is all too real. Meanwhile, the politicisation of the crisis is taking a heavy human toll.

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

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.

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.

Global pandemic

UK PM Johnson's 'go to work' advice sparks wide confusion

11-05-2020 13:09 In a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said people in Britain who can’t work from home, such as those in construction or manufacturing jobs, “should be actively encouraged to go to work” this week.

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.

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.

Animal rights

Mara the elephant leaves Ecoparque for new home in Brazil

11-05-2020 12:53 Mara the elephant, a native of India, began her journey from Buenos Aires to a sanctuary in Brazil on Saturday in a move experts hope will improve her quality of life.

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.

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.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Fernández: Argentina awaiting debt counter-offers from creditors

09-05-2020 14:30 Speaking in an interview with Futurock radio, the president said that Argentina wants to avoid default, and that he expects counter-proposals in coming days after the nation blew past a deadline for bondholders to accept a US$65-billion restructuring offer. The deadline passed on Friday afternoon with no signs of a deal, acceptance rate or an extension.

BLOOMBERG

Debt deadline passes with no sign of deal, extension

09-05-2020 10:05 Deadline for bondholders to accept a US$65-billion restructuring offer from government passed Friday afternoon with no signs of a deal, acceptance rate or an extension.

DEBT SWAP PROPSAL

Argentina misses deadline on international debt agreement

09-05-2020 08:46 "Argentina is maintaining a dialogue," Economy Minister Martín Guzmán told reporters on Friday.

Coronavirus pandemic

In Brazil, coronavirus hits blacks harder than whites

08-05-2020 09:33 Poor access to care, very exposed jobs, precarious housing: black Brazilians are being hit hard by the new coronavirus, which throws light on racial inequalities in the country, since they represent the majority of the population.

Fight against virus

Brazil coronavirus despair stretches from Rio to Amazon

08-05-2020 09:30 From the Amazon city of Manaus to the seemingly endless urban sprawl of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, freshly dug graves have been filling up quickly for weeks with the bodies of Brazilians killed by Covid-19.

Coronavirus conspiracy?

Trump backs theory Wuhan lab, US intelligence services less convinced

07-05-2020 13:08 Donald Trump says the evidence is clear, but intelligence agencies around the world – and even his own – are casting doubt on his theory.

Bloomberg

Airline JetSmart negotiating help with Argentine, Chilean governments

07-05-2020 13:05 Low-cost airline JetSmart Airlines SpA is in talks with the governments of Chile and Argentina about helping the sector in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, said its CEO, Estuardo Ortiz, in an interview with radio Pauta Bloomberg.

coronavirus pandemic

`If this thing boomerangs...' – Countries fear second wave of infections

07-05-2020 12:59 As Europe and the US loosen their lockdowns against the coronavirus, health experts are expressing growing dread over what they say is an all-but-certain second wave of deaths and infections that could force governments to clamp back down.

Life during quarantine

In Latin America, face masks become a form of expression

07-05-2020 12:51 Rarely used in Latin America outside hospitals before the coronavirus pandemic hit hard, face masks are now compulsory in many countries — and they're becoming a colourful part of daily life and cultural expression.

Coronavirus pandemic

'Thousands would die' if we ended lockdown now, says Fernández

07-05-2020 12:46 President rules out an immediate exit from Argentina's coronavirus lockdown, saying to do so would "lead to the death of thousands."

BLOOMBERG

Guzmán: Argentina is open to new debt offers from creditors

06-05-2020 23:16 Argentina and its biggest creditors have begun ironing out possible revisions to the country’s US$65-billion debt restructuring proposal before crucial bond payments come due later this month.