Holdout investors involved in litigation with Argentina over sovereign debt said on Monday they have not met with the government to negotiate a settlement on defaulted debt, and accused Buenos Aires of refusing to enter talks as a 30-day countdown to default begins.
A US judge has scheduled a hearing for Friday after hedge funds suing to collect on defaulted debt issued by Argentina complained about the country's plans to make a payment to creditors who participated in its past restructurings.
Hedge fund NML Capital have dismissed the Argentine government's request to reestablish a stay on payments to the holdout hedge funds, and called on New York judge Thomas Griesa to reject the plea.
After a day of fury and discussions with cabinet members, advisors and experts, Argentine president Cristina Fernandez will be sending a government delegation to New York to meet Judge Thomas Griesa and the hedge funds holdouts' solicitors and begin, hopefully, a round of negotiations to reach a settlement on the bonds litigation.
New York judge Thomas Griesa rejected last week a request by hedge fund investor Paul Singer to chide Argentina over its apparent “best option” plan to default on all its debt should it lose its last-chance appeal later this week before the US Supreme Court.
Argentina's lawyers tried on Friday to assure a US federal judge that it would not evade orders to pay 1.33 billion dollars to bondholders who refused to accept its debt-restructuring offers, if the US Supreme Court (on 12 June) declines the case.
Holders of Argentine sovereign debt this week asked the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear that country's appeal of lower court decisions ordering it to pay them 1.33 billion dollars in a case Argentine officials warn could force it to default on its sovereign debt.
Elliot Management Hedge Fund claimed on Tuesday that President Cristina Fernández administration refuses to negotiate a solution over Argentine debt in default, stating that they would prefer to seek a solution with the head of state's successor in 2015.
US Supreme Court justices seemed to indicate on Monday that creditors should be able to seek limited information about Argentina's non-US assets in a case stemming from long-running litigation over Argentina's obligations to hedge bond investors. The US administration of President Barack Obama sided with Argentina based on the foreign sovereignty immunity act.
An Argentine bondholder seeking to collect on hundreds of millions of dollars in judgments stemming from the country's historic 2002 default filed a lawsuit on Tuesday aiming to take control of the country's rights under a contract for satellite launches with a private US firm.