DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Elon Musk's DOGE is looking to Argentina for inspiration to slash public spending
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Both men admire Javier Milei, the Argentine leader elected on a pledge to slash the state. About a year ago, standing in front of a whiteboard with a gleam in his eye, Javier Milei started pulling apart Argentina's government. Javier Milei pulls apart a chart of Argentina's state in a video published on September 9, 2023. AdvertisementHarsh medicineHis measures helped tame a crisis: Argentina's inflation was 25.5% when Milei took office, and as of October, it was 2.7%. Argentinians have taken to the streets to protest against Javier Milei's economic policies since his election.

Persons: Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, Javier Milei, Milei, Lex Fridman, — Milei, Maria Victoria Murillo, Argentinians, Javier, Luciano Gonzalez, Donald Trump's, Trump, Ramaswamy, Musk Organizations: Argentine, Ministry, of Environment, Sustainable, Government, Social Security, US, Institute of Latin American Studies, Columbia University, Anadolu, Getty Images Kimberley, Economics, America, Republicans Locations: Milei, Argentine, Argentina, Mar, Buenos Aires

☆ Argentina’s Milei tells Davos ‘heroes’ how it should be done
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“The Argentine economy is in such bad shape that it has to be shaken up. President Milei and his team are doing exactly that,” she said during an interview in Davos. He has also devalued Argentina’s currency. However, some of Milei’s measures, such as the devaluation, are also likely to stabilize Argentina’s economy in the medium term, Sperrfechter said. Among his most radical plans, Milei has pledged to ditch the peso as Argentina’s official currency and replace it with the US dollar.

Persons: London CNN —, ” “, ” Javier Milei, ”, Milei, Juan Peron, Kristalina Georgieva, CNN’s Richard Quest Wednedsay, Milei’s, Kimberley Sperrfechter, Sperrfechter, It’s Organizations: London CNN, Economic, Council, Foreign Relations, Reuters, International Monetary Fund, IMF, Argentine, Capital Economics, CNN, “, US Federal Reserve Locations: Davos, Switzerland, Argentina, Argentine, US, “ Argentina

☆ This is the world's next major election. The winner has to fix chronic hyperinflation and halt a 6th recession in 10 years.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

AdvertisementAdvertisementArgentina is getting ready to choose its next president — and the country's economy is a mess. Triple-digit inflationSoaring prices are perhaps the best-known problem plaguing Argentina's economy, but far from the only issue that policymakers are battling. The currency is managed by Argentina's central bank. If, or more likely when, Argentina's economy slips into another recession, it'll be the sixth such occurrence in the past decade. His proposed policies include abolishing Argentina's central bank altogether and adopting the dollar, which economists have warned could end up pushing the country even closer to a default.

Persons: —, Sergio Massa, Javier Milei, Manuel Cortina, Lucila Bonilla, Bonilla, they've, Kimberley Sperrfechter, There's, there's, Massa, Cristina Sille, Donald Trump, Bolsonaro, they'll, Sperrfechter Organizations: Service, Union, Homeland, Triple, Consumer, National Institute of Statistics, Argentinian, Oxford Economics, The Central Bank of, International Monetary Fund, Reuters, World Bank, FX, Central Bank of, Peronist Locations: Argentina, American, Buenos Aires, Central Bank of Argentina

☆ Javier Milei wants Argentina to swap the peso for the US dollar. Here's what that would mean
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

For years, Argentinians have preferred to pay for many goods and services in greenbacks, rather than with their own collapsing currency, as part of an informal “blue dollar” currency market. To dollarize its economy, Argentina would need to exchange all pesos held by its people and businesses for US dollars, and assign a dollar value to all of its assets and contracts. The Fed would continue to set the cost of borrowing based on the needs of the US economy, not Argentina’s. Practical headacheThere’s another significant snag in Milei’s plan: Argentina doesn’t have enough dollars to ditch the peso. “People would need to take wheelbarrows of cash to convert to dollars,” Sabatini said.

Persons: Javier Milei, Sergio Massa, Argentina’s, JP Morgan, Argentinians, Milei, Natacha, Matias Baglietto, Reuters “ That’s, ” Christopher Sabatini, Kimberley Sperrfechter, ” Sperrfechter, It’s, ” Sabatini, Luis Robayo, Sabatini, ” Organizations: London CNN, National Institute of Statistics, Argentina’s, US Federal Reserve, Economic, Reuters, America, Chatham House, CNN, Capital Economics, International Monetary Fund, Getty, IMF Locations: Argentina, greenbacks, Washington, El Salvador, Panama, Ecuador, United States, Buenos Aires, AFP

REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian/Illustration/File PhotoNEW YORK, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Investors in Argentina's financial markets, where bonds and the peso slid on Monday after central bank moves following a surprise primary election result, said the vote had a silver lining: it would likely hasten long-called-for economic reforms. The result initially introduced uncertainty into asset pricing, with traders selling stocks and dollar bonds - but prices later stabilized and the local stock market closed over 3% higher. Investors said this would outweigh any worries about Milei, despite some of his heterodox pledges, including to axe the central bank and dollarize the economy. Milei faces a significant challenge still to turn the primary election win into a successful run to the presidency. The central bank also increased the benchmark interest rate to 118% from 97%.

Persons: Agustin Marcarian, Javier Milei, Patricia Bullrich, Milei, Kimberley Sperrfechter, Sergio Massa, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Milei's, Walter Stoeppelwerth, Shamaila Khan, Rowe Price, Samy Muaddi, Rodrigo Campos, Adam Jourdan, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Argentine, REUTERS, Economics, Kimberley, Peronist, Investors, Gletir SA, Emerging Markets, Asia Pacific, UBS Asset Management, Jorgelina, Thomson Locations: Argentina, Argentine, MERV, Rosario

☆ Analysis: Latin America, after record tightening, could lead way on rate cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Marion Giraldo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The small South American country of Uruguay has already cut rates, by 25 basis points in April. Chile's central bank kept its key interest rate on hold at 11.25% last week, but said if recent positive trends continue, it could begin cutting the rate in the short term. Forecasts are pointing to a rate cut next month, said Cesar Guzman, macroeconomic analyst at Santiago-based Grupo Securities. Even there, however, the central bank opted to hold rates steady in June as monthly inflation slowed for the first time in half a year. "Colombia and Mexico will be the last ones to cut rates, possibly in the fourth quarter."

Persons: Joan Domene, Reuters Graphics Goldman Sachs, Alberto Ramos, Cesar Guzman, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Kimberley Sperrfechter, Andres Pardo, Marion Giraldo, Natalia Ramos, Fabian Cambero, Nelson Bocanegra, Anthony Esposito, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: MEXICO CITY, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England, America, Oxford, Reuters Graphics, Grupo Securities, Reuters, Capital Economics, XP Investments, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, American, Uruguay, Santiago, COLOMBIA, America, Argentina, Colombia, Bogota

Argentina - a serial defaulter which has long battled high inflation, currency weakness and indebtedness - struck a $57 billion deal with the IMF in 2018 to try and fix its economic woes. Those reviews of how Argentina is doing against its economic targets are linked to scheduled disbursements of funds. Failure to meet the targets could stall the program or force the IMF to adjust the targets further. The IMF net reserve targets are the amount Argentina needs to accumulate over time above a baseline of $2.277 billion at the end of 2021. "That will make it hard to meet the IMF's (downwardly revised) FX reserve target and increases the risk of a disorderly devaluation."

☆ After steep climb in rates, Latam central banks show no signs of reversal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Isabel Woodford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Brazilian central bank's weekly survey of private economists last year foresaw cuts in June 2023, but a recent survey pushed the forecast back to November. The central bank's poll of traders now expects cuts won't come until May, likely making Chile the first mover. "We've had a quite a few hawkish comments from central banks across the region, pushing back against the idea of rate cuts," she added. That gives central banks the message that it's not quite time to think about a more relaxed monetary policy," he said. Political unrest in Peru may have also moved back the goalpost for cuts, with the central bank warning that protests have caused supply chain disruption and impacted consumer prices.

☆ A South American currency union? Don't hold your breath
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Rodrigo Campos | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

That came after the leaders had touted a "common South American currency" on Sunday and officials told the Financial Times the tender could even be called the "sur" and eventually look to bring in other countries around South America. "It has failed to achieve simpler integration goals than that of a common currency." He called the idea of a currency union a "fantasy." Currency union talk was just a distraction, she said. Todd Martinez, a director at Fitch Ratings' sovereigns group focused on Latin America, said the two countries appeared to be unlikely partners to form a successful currency union, given their diverging economies.

Search resuls for: "Sperrfechter"

10 mentions found