Argentina Economy

The latest efforts by Argentina's government to rein in rampant inflation met mixed reviews Tuesday from local economists and business people. As a second wave of hyperinflation in the past six months threatened to cripple the country's economy, the government late Monday announced measures to shore up the crumbling currency, the austral, and to hold down short-term interest rates, which last week soared to 300% a month.

As Argentina wrestles with its latest economic woes, one unintended victim of the crisis could be trade relations and a possible death blow to Mercosur, the trading partnership that comprises Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Born amid great hopes, Mercosur was supposed to provide a regional market for home-grown commodities and services. Instead, critics say, it has institutionalized the instability and inefficiency of its members.

Argentina said Thursday it's studying the idea of scrapping its currency and replacing it with the U.S. dollar, to help shield the nation from being rocked by currency crises such as Brazil's. Argentine officials first met with the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Treasury last July to discuss the move, which could be a first step in eventually using the dollar hemisphere wide, said Central Bank President Pedro Pou.

The Bush administration signaled support for accelerating planned loans to Argentina, which is struggling to contain a financial crisis. The Treasury Department's top international official was heading to Argentina on an emergency fact-finding trip. Undersecretary John Taylor said before his departure for meetings in Buenos Aires that he believed there was a good chance the disbursement of new loans to Argentina by the International Monetary Fund would be approved soon.

The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday it is prepared to provide $8 billion in new loans to help the government of Argentina keep its ailing economy afloat and avoid a potential default on its foreign debt. IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler urged the fund's executive board to boost Argentina's existing $14-billion credit line to $22 billion, the IMF said.

John Taylor, international point man for the U.S. Treasury Department, concluded a visit to Argentina saying he was impressed with its measures to erase its budget deficit and spur growth. In a U.S. Embassy statement issued shortly before he was due to fly back to the United States, the Treasury undersecretary for international affairs said his meetings with top Argentine government officials had been "fruitful and detailed."

Stocks across Latin America and in Spain plunged Monday after Argentina stunned the financial community with a new policy on exchange rates that some analysts saw as a de facto devaluation. The policy changes, announced over the weekend, obliterated much of the confidence earned when Argentina exchanged $29 billion in debt this month, a move that seemed to give the country some breathing room from worried creditors.

Jacqueline Bua knows there are real enemies in the world, but more than anything, she says she has become a victim of forces beyond her control. Last year, the health-care worker saw her salary drop by 12%, and she expects it to fall an additional 13% because of what are known here as "adjustments," cuts ordered by the government to help balance the budget. The cost of essentials has climbed, with gasoline, for example, topping $4 a gallon.

Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde announced plans for a national dialogue on the nation's financial woes Monday even as he struggled to ease a hated banking freeze and win the support of foreign lenders for his efforts. "We will work together without flagging and with renewed hope," Duhalde said on national television late Monday.