By Kenneth Rogoff (*) - Argentina’s latest default poses unsettling questions for policymakers. True, the country’s periodic debt crises are often the result of self-destructive macroeconomic policies. But, this time, the default has been triggered by a significant shift in the international sovereign-debt regime
New York district judge Thomas Griesa and the Argentine government are again on the collision course: while the magistrate has ordered the Bank of New York Mellon to retain the funds deposited by Argentina to pay exchange bondholders and declaring the payment “illegal”, the Ministry of Economy in Buenos Aires suggested bondholder should change BONY for a new intermediary institution.
Foreign minister Federica Mogherini pledged that under the current Italian presidency of the European Union, top priority will be given to signing the pending trade agreements, among which that with Mercosur still under discussion.
Underlining the close links between Wales and Argentine Patagonia, where many Welsh immigrants settled for the first time 150 years ago, Chubut governor Martin Buzzi called on the British government “to open a dialogue on the Malvinas Islands”.
The failure of the two major players in global trade negotiations to bridge their differences has put paid to the adoption of the protocol of amendment for implementation of the contested Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) for the time being.
The 83-year-old head of the Argentine human rights movement which works to track down babies stolen by the country's brutal 1976-83 military dictatorship has found her grandson after a 35-year search, a relative said on Tuesday.
The Argentine Government will formally demand that Citibank and the Bank of New York Mellon pay exchange bondholders, the Economy Ministry informed on Tuesday in a press release.
Brazil is far from stagflation, central bank chief Alexandre Tombini said on Tuesday, forecasting the economy will pick up speed and inflation will ease in coming months. In similar terms Economy minister Guido Mantega said the economy should pick up in the second half of the year after a slow start and hit more reasonable growth levels in 2015.
Paraguay sold 1bn (one billion) dollars in 30-year bonds on Monday in New York, its second international debt issue in less than two years. President Horacio Cartes said in a statement that the issue's 6.1% yield is unprecedented for the country, and that the proceeds will be used for highway, building and energy infrastructure, as well as agricultural production.
Sayeeda Warsi, a senior minister in Britain's Foreign Office, resigned on Tuesday, accusing Prime Minister David Cameron's government of taking a morally indefensible approach to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.