
Argentine President Cristina Fernández has criticized what she dubbed a double standard from the United Kingdom, due to the nation condemning the Crimean referendum on union with Russia while supporting the rights of Falklands/Malvinas residents to hold a vote on their future.

International credit rating agency Moody's has reduced the rating of Argentina's sovereign debt, moving the grade down one step from B3 to Caa1 due to the fall in the nation's international reserves and its inconsistent economic policy.

Inflation in Argentina during the month of February reached 3.4%, which means that in the first two months of the year the index stands above 7.1%, according to the latest figures released by the country's National Institute of Statistics and Census' (INDEC) Consumer Price Index.

Mercosur will present a joint proposal to the European Union for a wide ranging trade agreement between the two blocks later this month, announced Brazil' Minister of Industry Mauro Borges, following a visit to Buenos Aires where he met with Economy minister Axel Kicillof and Industry minister Debora Giorgi.

President Cristina Fernández (with a sprained ankle in a boot) and Pope Francis shared on Monday a lunch which lasted two hours and a half at Santa Marta residence in the Vatican. It's the third time the Argentine head of state and Francis meet since he was elected pontiff one year ago.

According to the latest stats from the Argentine Fisheries Under-Secretariat Office, between January first and 13 March, 2014, a total of 31,760.6 tons of squid (Illex argentinus) was landed in Argentine ports. Out of that volume, 213.3 tons correspond to January; 26,391.9 tons to February and in the first two weeks of March, 5,155.3 tons.

Argentina will be present at the Boston Seafood Expo North America, which is considered the most important of the United States and is scheduled for March 16/18, announced the Argentine Foreign ministry indicating it was part of the government's campaign to increase and diversify foreign trade and exports.

Argentine cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich claimed that UK's preference to talk about the Falklands/Malvinas dispute with opposition presidential hopefuls, clearly means that these leaders are willing to a greater flexibility regarding foreign interests in the dispute.

The Argentine government confirmed on Friday that the Paris Club of creditor nations have invited the country to start formal negotiations towards the end of May, apparently following on the proposal made by the Cristina Fernandez administration last January.

US Secretary of State, John Kerry has rejected the possibility that the Barack Obama administration would side with Argentina in the long-standing dispute with hedge funds over the defaulted bonds from the 2001/2 meltdown. Still the US official praised what he considered some “positive steps” by the Cristina Fernandez government.