Argentina

• Friday, July 18th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  The Economist warns of 3 years of lame-duck presidency

  Under the heading of “Losing friends fast” The Economist refers to the milestone last 48 hours in Argentina and concludes that if President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner does not learn fast from her mistakes, “she may go down as one of the longest-serving lame ducks in recent democratic history”.

• Thursday, July 17th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentine Senate knocks out Kirchners farm export tax

  

  After a dramatic 18hrs session senators tied 36 to 36 in two votes on the measure. Julio Cobos, the vice-president voted against the proposal, breaking the tie. The bill was approved by the lower house of Congress on July 5.

• Thursday, July 17th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentine government takes over Aerolineas

  

  Argentina announced Thursday it had reached an agreement with the Spanish group Marsans for the transfer of the country's main airline Aerolíenas Argentinas and its subsidiary Austral to the Argentine state.

• Thursday, July 17th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Englishwoman death in Argentina reaches House of Commons

  The mysterious death in Argentina of a young Englishwoman in October of last year has reached the floor of the British House of Commons with her family's MP questioning a junior Foreign Office minister about the adequacy of the support received by the deceased woman's family from the British Embassy in Buenos Aires and questioning the return of her body to the UK without its organs.

• Wednesday, July 16th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentine Senate vote: end of debate or another battle?

  

  Hundreds of thousands of Argentines took to the streets of Buenos Aires in support of two rival rallies on the eve of a Wednesday crucial Congressional vote on farm export taxes which has triggered a four month stand off between the government and protesting farmers.

• Wednesday, July 16th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Buenos Aires “fed up” with Kirchner farmers' conflict

  

  A majority of Buenos Aires City residents are “fed up” with political rallies stemming from the ongoing stand off between the Argentine government and the protesting farmers over grains and oilseeds export taxes, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

• Wednesday, July 16th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina faces complicated horizon, says Wall Street

  

  Wall Street analysts forecast a complicated horizon for Argentina fueled by the government's political problems, slower economy, rising inflation and the ongoing dispute with farmers over taxes which some anticipate will find its way to the courts, according to reports in the Buenos Aires press.

• Tuesday, July 15th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Kirchners Senate block show cracks ahead of crucial vote

  With less than two days for the crucial Congressional vote on the sliding tax regime on grain and oil seed exports which is at the heart of a dispute between the Argentine administration of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and the farmers, the final tally remains uncertain.

• Tuesday, July 15th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina re-implants export benefits to help fishing industry

  

  Argentina re-established benefits to fisheries exports to the tune of 20 million US dollars annually according to reports in the Buenos Aires press. Benefits range from 1% to 10% depending on the added value to the exported product.

• Monday, July 14th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina doubles export tax on gas pumped to Chile

  

  The Chilean government admitted on Monday it was “foreseeable” that Argentina would impose a 100% increase on the natural gas export tax. The tax on Argentine gas exported to Chile has soared from 7.8 US dollars per million BTU to 15.9 US dollars, which added to transport and other inputs adds to 29 US dollars per million BTU.