
Argentina paid creditors a total of 2.25 billion dollars on government-issued debt Monday, as it sought to shed the last vestiges of its 2001 default and return to the financial mainstream. Economy Minister Amado Boudou said the payment, or coupon, had been made to holders of dollar-denominated Boden 2012 bonds -- meeting a debt obligation that aims to boost confidence.

Most of the 9.5 tons of gold and silver (valued in 20 million US dollars) that went down in the South Atlantic off the Argentine coast on board a converted Chilean trawler have been recovered by a rescue mission contracted by the insurers of the cargo, reports the Argentine press.

Argentina’s former Health Minister Graciela Ocaña revealed she resigned because she has “a different way of acting in politics” and criticized the growing influence in the Kirchner couple administrations of the head of the country’s main unions’ organization Hugo Moyano.

Argentine and Chilean cabinet ministers will be meeting next Thursday in Buenos Aires to advance in the integration process and address an agenda of bilateral issues, according to reports in the Argentine capital.

Argentina’s flight of capital remains steady having reached 5.5 billion US dollars in the second quarter of the year, 11.2 billion in the first half and 43.1 billion US dollars since the second quarter of 2007, when the first signs of the global crisis, according to the latest data from the Argentine Central Bank.

Argentine farmers said on Saturday that the camp is “no longer a tame cow to be milked” by a “predatory government” and blasted “inefficiency and wrong policies”.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner announced this week a bill that will limit the amount of funds discretionally disbursed by the Executive under the so-called superpowers.

After having reached an understanding with Brazil, Paraguay next month plans to begin negotiations with Argentina to claim better conditions for the power generated from the Yaciretá dam which both countries share.

Brazil and Argentina reached “relatively productive” results following the Sao Paulo meeting of the bilateral trade monitoring committee to address the ongoing restrictions imposed by Argentina to Brazilian exports, according to diplomatic sources from both sides.

A total of 393.209,7 tons of seafood was landed in Argentine high seas ports between January first and 27th. July 2009, which represents 36.1% less than the 614.850 tons of the fist half of 2008.