The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Argentina’s government debt to peak by the end of 2018 and then fall as the country cuts its deficit as part of its US$50 billion deal with the Fund, according to a document published.
In an effort to fix a persistent deterioration of relations, the President ordered a 20% rise in the salaries of the Armed Forces. It was a political decision against the fiscal austerity measures that the government promised the IMF to deserve a financial rescue of 50,000 million dollars, but necessary to calm what already threatened to become a serious storm.
President Mauricio Macri, First Lady Juliana Awada and members of his cabinet attended on Monday, 9 July, the Argentine Independence Day celebrations in the Tucuman Historic House, where 202 years ago the emerging nation cut all ties as a Spanish colony.
President Mauricio Macri and his cabinet will be celebrating Argentina's Independence Day, Monday 9 July at the Historic House in the northern province of Tucuman, where the declaration was first announced 202 years ago. Contrary to other years there will be no military parade in Tucuman or Buenos Aires, allegedly as a consequence of the strict austerity measures imposed by the Macri administration.
On a residential street corner in Buenos Aires, Van Koning Market sells imported beers to the city’s well-heeled. Since it opened in June last year costs have soared. The peso has plummeted, meaning wholesale prices have shot up. Inflation is running at 26%; the reduction of government subsidies means the monthly electricity bill has risen from 700 pesos to 4,000 pesos (US$ 142).
Argentina's central bank said on Monday that it hiked bank reserve requirements by 3 percentage points, following a hike of three percentage points on June 18 as monetary policymakers seek to calm inflation and end a run on the peso currency. The Peso gained 1.9% on Monday against the dollar.
Argentina will allow fuel retailers to freely set pump prices starting in August, according to an Energy Ministry official familiar with the plan, a move that could encourage badly needed investment in the nation's oil patch but risks worsening sky-high inflation and angering consumers.
After a week of relative stability, the Argentine peso slid more than 2.5% percent on Friday, as an economic crisis marked by high inflation, wobbly growth and an outflow of capital began to bite again.
Arms exports to the Argentine military are set to resume, more than six years after a ban imposed in a row over the Falkland Islands. Foreign Office Minister Sir Alan Duncan said restrictions would still be imposed on exports which could enhance Argentina's military capabilities.
Argentina’s economy shrank in April for the first time in more than a year, government data showed on Tuesday, while the central bank held its policy rate stable at 40% in the first rate decision since a shakeup in its leadership.