Latest news with #ACARA
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Argentina under Milei: a tale of two economies
In Javier Milei's Argentina, falling inflation has stimulated a boom in car and real estate sales and foreign-bound planes take off laden with tourists. But on the other side of a very complicated economic coin, consumption is dropping precipitously among low- and middle-income groups while more and more people work in precarious jobs and buy groceries on credit. Milei, who took office as president in December 2023, has partly succeeded in his quest to curb state spending and runaway inflation, which reached a five-year monthly low in May. But the price has been a devalued peso and deep cuts to state subsidies that made access to housing, health care and education prohibitively expensive for millions. Consumer spending dipped heavily last year and a tentative rebound has been unequal: spending on tangible assets such as apartments and cars has skyrocketed among the rich, while ever more poorer people can not afford shoes or food. Nine out of 10 Argentine households are in debt, official data shows. Even more have defaulted on a loan. - 'An excellent June' - "Nothing is selling," shoe store employee Laura Comiso told AFP in downtown Buenos Aires after yet another afternoon without customers. But in San Andres de Giles west of the capital, car salesman Blas Morales waxed lyrical about "an excellent June!" According to Sebastian Beato, president of Argentina's ACARA car dealership association, the first half of 2025 was "the best in seven years" with sales up nearly 80 percent from 2024. Under Milei's measures, loans have become cheaper, and Argentines have been encouraged by a tax amnesty to bring out billions of US dollars they had stashed under mattresses and floorboards, in safety deposit boxes and offshore accounts. Investment in real estate increased 22 percent year-on-year in Buenos Aires in May. In the first four months of 2025, more mortgages were taken out in Argentina than in all of 2024. "The change in government has been very positive for this sector," third-generation real estate agent Diego Sardano told AFP. "Under the previous government, we went months without making a single sale. Now we have about five sales per month," he added. A stronger peso also benefits those traveling abroad but harms domestic tourism, with bookings plummeting. Between January and April, about six million Argentines traveled abroad -- 70 percent more than in the same period in 2024. The country received only two million visitors at the same time, the lowest figure in a decade. - No more candy - Consumption is being driven largely by Argentina's upper class, which comprises no more than six percent of the population. Consulting firm Moiguer said in a recent report the economic recovery after months of recession was not benefiting everyone equally, and was exacerbating income inequality. Half of Argentines tell pollsters they cannot make ends meet, and a third delay planned purchases in order to pay for essentials. Sardano, the realtor, said he feared spending on homes and apartment may have peaked "because people's purchasing power isn't increasing." "High-end car registrations are increasing while food consumption is falling. The middle class is being wiped out," added Rodolfo Aguilar, head of the State Workers' Union (ATE) which has reported 40,000 job losses among its ranks under Milei. Fernando Savore, head of the Federation of Small Businesses in Buenos Aires province, said having a job no longer guarantees financial stability because wages have not kept pace with rising gas, electricity and transport prices, or school fees. "Much of a worker's income goes toward these obligations. There are items that no longer sell, like candy and desserts," he told AFP. "People only buy necessities like pasta and tomato puree, nothing more, and many are buying on credit." sa/lbc/mlr/mlm
France 24
16-07-2025
- Business
- France 24
Argentina under Milei: a tale of two economies
But on the other side of a very complicated economic coin, consumption is dropping precipitously among low- and middle-income groups while more and more people work in precarious jobs and buy groceries on credit. Milei, who took office as president in December 2023, has partly succeeded in his quest to curb state spending and runaway inflation, which reached a five-year monthly low in May. But the price has been a devalued peso and deep cuts to state subsidies that made access to housing, health care and education prohibitively expensive for millions. Consumer spending dipped heavily last year and a tentative rebound has been unequal: spending on tangible assets such as apartments and cars has skyrocketed among the rich, while ever more poorer people can not afford shoes or food. Nine out of 10 Argentine households are in debt, official data shows. Even more have defaulted on a loan. - 'An excellent June' - "Nothing is selling," shoe store employee Laura Comiso told AFP in downtown Buenos Aires after yet another afternoon without customers. But in San Andres de Giles west of the capital, car salesman Blas Morales waxed lyrical about "an excellent June!" According to Sebastian Beato, president of Argentina's ACARA car dealership association, the first half of 2025 was "the best in seven years" with sales up nearly 80 percent from 2024. Under Milei's measures, loans have become cheaper, and Argentines have been encouraged by a tax amnesty to bring out billions of US dollars they had stashed under mattresses and floorboards, in safety deposit boxes and offshore accounts. Investment in real estate increased 22 percent year-on-year in Buenos Aires in May. In the first four months of 2025, more mortgages were taken out in Argentina than in all of 2024. "The change in government has been very positive for this sector," third-generation real estate agent Diego Sardano told AFP. "Under the previous government, we went months without making a single sale. Now we have about five sales per month," he added. A stronger peso also benefits those traveling abroad but harms domestic tourism, with bookings plummeting. Between January and April, about six million Argentines traveled abroad -- 70 percent more than in the same period in 2024. The country received only two million visitors at the same time, the lowest figure in a decade. No more candy Consumption is being driven largely by Argentina's upper class, which comprises no more than six percent of the population. Consulting firm Moiguer said in a recent report the economic recovery after months of recession was not benefiting everyone equally, and was exacerbating income inequality. Half of Argentines tell pollsters they cannot make ends meet, and a third delay planned purchases in order to pay for essentials. Sardano, the realtor, said he feared spending on homes and apartment may have peaked "because people's purchasing power isn't increasing." "High-end car registrations are increasing while food consumption is falling. The middle class is being wiped out," added Rodolfo Aguilar, head of the State Workers' Union (ATE) which has reported 40,000 job losses among its ranks under Milei. Fernando Savore, head of the Federation of Small Businesses in Buenos Aires province, said having a job no longer guarantees financial stability because wages have not kept pace with rising gas, electricity and transport prices, or school fees. "Much of a worker's income goes toward these obligations. There are items that no longer sell, like candy and desserts," he told AFP.
Int'l Business Times
16-07-2025
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
Argentina Under Milei: A Tale Of Two Economies
In Javier Milei's Argentina, falling inflation has stimulated a boom in car and real estate sales and foreign-bound planes take off laden with tourists. But on the other side of a very complicated economic coin, consumption is dropping precipitously among low- and middle-income groups while more and more people work in precarious jobs and buy groceries on credit. Milei, who took office as president in December 2023, has partly succeeded in his quest to curb state spending and runaway inflation, which reached a five-year monthly low in May. But the price has been a devalued peso and deep cuts to state subsidies that made access to housing, health care and education prohibitively expensive for millions. Consumer spending dipped heavily last year and a tentative rebound has been unequal: spending on tangible assets such as apartments and cars has skyrocketed among the rich, while ever more poorer people can not afford shoes or food. Nine out of 10 Argentine households are in debt, official data shows. Even more have defaulted on a loan. "Nothing is selling," shoe store employee Laura Comiso told AFP in downtown Buenos Aires after yet another afternoon without customers. But in San Andres de Giles west of the capital, car salesman Blas Morales waxed lyrical about "an excellent June!" According to Sebastian Beato, president of Argentina's ACARA car dealership association, the first half of 2025 was "the best in seven years" with sales up nearly 80 percent from 2024. Under Milei's measures, loans have become cheaper, and Argentines have been encouraged by a tax amnesty to bring out billions of US dollars they had stashed under mattresses and floorboards, in safety deposit boxes and offshore accounts. Investment in real estate increased 22 percent year-on-year in Buenos Aires in May. In the first four months of 2025, more mortgages were taken out in Argentina than in all of 2024. "The change in government has been very positive for this sector," third-generation real estate agent Diego Sardano told AFP. "Under the previous government, we went months without making a single sale. Now we have about five sales per month," he added. A stronger peso also benefits those traveling abroad but harms domestic tourism, with bookings plummeting. Between January and April, about six million Argentines traveled abroad -- 70 percent more than in the same period in 2024. The country received only two million visitors at the same time, the lowest figure in a decade. Consumption is being driven largely by Argentina's upper class, which comprises no more than six percent of the population. Consulting firm Moiguer said in a recent report the economic recovery after months of recession was not benefiting everyone equally, and was exacerbating income inequality. Half of Argentines tell pollsters they cannot make ends meet, and a third delay planned purchases in order to pay for essentials. Sardano, the realtor, said he feared spending on homes and apartment may have peaked "because people's purchasing power isn't increasing." "High-end car registrations are increasing while food consumption is falling. The middle class is being wiped out," added Rodolfo Aguilar, head of the State Workers' Union (ATE) which has reported 40,000 job losses among its ranks under Milei. Fernando Savore, head of the Federation of Small Businesses in Buenos Aires province, said having a job no longer guarantees financial stability because wages have not kept pace with rising gas, electricity and transport prices, or school fees. "Much of a worker's income goes toward these obligations. There are items that no longer sell, like candy and desserts," he told AFP. "People only buy necessities like pasta and tomato puree, nothing more, and many are buying on credit."
News.com.au
13-05-2025
- General
- News.com.au
‘Trending downwards': Shock as school attendance drops below pre-Covid levels
School attendance levels have dipped for another year, with the number of students attending classes falling below pre-Covid-19 levels. Across Australia, the attendance rate for students in primary schools and high schools was 88.3 per cent, a slight dip from the same period the year before. However, attendance levels – the percentage of students with attendance at or above 90 per cent – show a different story. According to the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), the 2024 attendance levels of students attending at least 90 per cent of their classes across government, Catholic and independent schools were 59.8 per cent – a sharp decline from the 74.9 per cent attendance levels in 2019. School attendance levels vary in each state, though attendance rates are generally higher in big cities compared with regional areas. There's also a significant gap with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students attending school compared with non-Indigenous students, though these figures have narrowed slightly by 0.7 percentage points. A Department of Education spokesman said the increase in students wagging classes was concerning, and 'every day of school missed is a day of learning lost'. 'Regular school attendance is critical to successful student outcomes and engagement,' they told NewsWire. While the pandemic had a role to play in this figure, they said the 'national school attendance rates have trended downwards over the past decade'. 'The Covid-19 pandemic further exacerbated this trend,' they said, adding 'while national student attendance rates have improved from the lows of the pandemic, they are yet to return to pre-Covid levels'. 'They are not at an all time low,' they said. There were several reasons for the sudden decline in attendance levels, including 'anxiety and worry', Australian Primary Principals Association president Angela Falkenberg told NewsWire. 'Schools look at each student and their family to understand the reasons for non-attendance,' she said, explaining schools will complete 'conversations' with kids and parents to explain their absences. While she said it was 'vital' for schools to work with parents and families to ensure children were in class, Ms Falkenberg admitted that this 'may not always be a reality'. 'Some (truancy) can be due to anxiety and worry which can result in poor sleep,' she said. Another reason why students may not be able to attend school comes down to issues at home, including 'family discord, poor mental health, food and housing insecurity and even transport to school'. 'Some might be due to children's friendship struggles,' they said. 'Schools can work with the child on managing conflict (or) joining in a game.' In April 2024, the Senate Education and Employment References Committee issued an inquiry into the national trend of school refusal and related matters. Following the inquiry, the Department of Education spokesman said the education ministers 'agreed that wellbeing for learning and engagement is one of the priority areas of the agreements, and reforms include initiatives which support student engagement in learning, for example through greater student participation, attendance, inclusion and/or enhanced school-family engagement'.
