Why Argentina, IMF Are Wrestling Over Bad Debt, Again
The fact that Argentina is in talks with the International Monetary Fund for emergency aid to stave off default might not sound surprising -- if agreed, this would be the 22nd IMF loan for South Americaโs second-largest economy in seven decades. Whatโs unusual is the size of the IMF package being renegotiated and the complications posed by the pandemic, which hammered an already staggering economy. The conflict this time isnโt just between a left-leaning government that wants more freedom to spend and IMF officials pushing for budget cuts, but between the government and even more liberal members of its own party. Thatโs kept tension high even after a preliminary deal was struck in late January, as Argentinaโs foreign reserves dwindle. The stakes are also significant for the IMF, which has sunk a bigger share of its resources into a single country than ever before.
washingtonpost.comArgentine congress debates abortion rights; activists gather
Abortion-rights activists rally outside Congress as lawmakers debate a bill on its legalization, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020. The lower house is expected to vote on a legal abortion bill presented by President Alberto Fernndez. It is a historic demand and it has to do with solving a public health problem,โ Laura Salomรฉ, an abortion rights activist, said outside congress. Abortion rights and anti-abortion demonstrators gathered in separate, designated areas under tight security. Minors under 16 years old who seek an abortion can exercise โtheir rights through their legal representatives,โ according to the bill.
Argentina election: Incumbent concedes defeat in presidential vote
The result would mark a dramatic return to high office of former President Cristina Fernndez, Alberto Fernndez's vice presidential running mate, former boss and what critics say might be the power behind his throne. Macri told supports at his headquarters that he had called Alberto Fernndez to congratulate him and invited him for a breakfast chat Monday at the Pink Presidential Palace. "We need an orderly transition that will bring tranquility to all Argentines, because the most important thing is the well-being of all Argentines," Macri said. Authorities said Fernndez has 47.83% of the votes compared to 40.66% for Macri, with 91.21% percent of the votes counted. Alberto Fernndez greeted sympathizers who gathered outside the gate of his apartment chanting: "Alberto presidente!"
cnbc.com'You can't rule anything out in Argentina': Default risk casts a shadow over presidential election
Presidential candidate for ''Frente de Todos'' party Alberto Fernandez and Mauricio Macri, candidate for ''Juntos por el Cambio'', during their participation in the debate ''Argentina Debate 2019'' in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019. It is widely expected that Argentina's President Mauricio Macri will be defeated by the opposition ticket of center-left Alberto Fernandez and populist ex-leader Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. The first round of the presidential election comes as the country is facing a debt crunch, with the worst rout of the country's stock market in decades raising fears of a possible default. The latest opinions polls indicate that Fernandez could beat the center-right incumbent by almost 20 percentage points on Sunday. That would almost certainly be enough to win the presidency outright.
cnbc.comArgentina slaps controls on the peso
The move is an attempt to stop money pouring out of the country and shore up the country's foreign currency reserves, which are being depleted rapidly as Argentina attempts to support the peso. The currency crisis poses a huge risk to Argentina, which signed on to a $57 billion bailout with the International Monetary Fund last year. Fears are rising that the country could default again, since Argentina has "significant exposure" to dollar-denominated obligations, according to Moody's, which downgraded Argentina's rating last week. S&P Global Ratings said last week that the decision to extend the maturity of short-term debt constituted a brief default under the rating agency's criteria. The capital controls are a reversal for Macri, who eliminated a similar policy instituted by his predecessor, Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner, after he took office in 2015.
Argentina's peso falls 15% after surprise election
BUENOS AIRES - A surprise result in Argentina's primary election sent the country's currency and stocks plunging Monday, with investors fearing that populists could replace the country's current, business-friendly government. Two exchange-traded funds that track Argentina's stocks fell more than 20%. Fernandez's running mate is his left-wing Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who was Argentina's president before Macri. The primary vote essentially functions as a national poll ahead of the election. Benjamin Gedan, director of the Argentina Project at the Wilson Center called the short term reaction from the markets "absolutely brutal."
Main yield curve inverts as 2-year yield tops 10-year rate, triggering recession warning
The yield on U.S. 30-year bond fell to an all-time low, dropping past its prior record notched in summer 2016. Early Wednesday, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was at 1.623%, below the 2-year yield at 1.634%. The last inversion of this part of the yield curve was in December 2005, two years before a recession brought on by the financial crisis hit. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond traded at 2.02%, well below its former record low of 2.0889% hit in 2016 following Britain's Brexit vote. Investors are now demanding higher interest rates on short-term debt than they are longer-term debt, a phenomenon known as an "inverted yield curve."
cnbc.comArgentina's massive stock market and currency sell-off triggers risk of contagion, analysts warn
Argentine President Mauricio Macri, who has been defeated in the primary elections for the reelection, during a press conference at the Casa Rosada, the government house, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, Aug. 12, 2019. The risk of contagion has flared-up following a stock market and currency crash in South America's second-largest country, analysts told CNBC on Tuesday. Argentina's President Mauricio Macri lost by a far greater margin than expected in primary elections on Sunday, casting serious doubt over the incumbent's re-election chances in October. The surprise result set off a shockwave in financial markets, with the peso closing 15% weaker at 53.5 per U.S. dollar and Argentina's stock market plunging more than 30%. Andrea Iannelli, investment director at Fidelity International, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Tuesday that it was hard to see how Argentina's stock market and currency crash could be completely isolated.
cnbc.comArgentina's election surprise triggers historic stock market and currency crash
Erica Canepa | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesArgentina's peso and stock market sold off steeply Monday after the country's center-right leader, President Mauricio Macri, performed poorly in primary elections. The main Argentine stock market plunged more than 30% on Monday, marking the second-biggest one day slump anywhere since 1950, Reuters reported. The election result had earlier prompted Argentina's euro-denominated bond to fall 11 cents lower, according to data reported by Reuters. 'A very volatile day'The presidential primaries were viewed by many as a referendum on Macri's painful economic reforms. Speaking to supporters shortly after the result, Macri recognized that his team had suffered a "bad election."
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