Latest news with #JavierMilei
Reuters
9 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Argentina takes baby step toward financial order with pricey $1 billion debt auction
NEW YORK/BUENOS AIRES, May 30 (Reuters) - Argentina's first major bond sale in seven years, a $1 billion offering with payments in pesos, is a clear sign that global investors are regaining their faith in a country recently mired in triple-digit inflation. But the nearly 30% yield, higher than many expected, showed a high level of apprehension remains. President Javier Milei needs to prove to Argentines voting in October, the International Monetary Fund and foreign investors that the economic recovery will continue. Annual inflation has fallen to near 50% from over 270% a year ago. He has convinced the IMF to lend Argentina $20 billion and slashed government spending without losing much popularity, even though nearly 40% of Argentines live below the poverty line. Argentina owes around $300 billion, about $60 billion of which is in dollar-denominated international bonds. A return to dollar-denominated financing in global capital markets is embedded in the IMF program and is sorely needed to cement the recent recovery. This week's offering is "an important milestone on the path to refinancing future dollar commitments," said economist Gustavo Ber, head of Buenos Aires-based Estudio Ber. BTG Pactual called it a "savvy move" with the same outcome as the central bank buying dollars with pesos, without distorting the foreign currency market. The government said late on Wednesday that demand for the 5-year notes was about 1.7 times the $1 billion cap. The 29.5% yield exceeded initial expectations for about 25% and investors have the option to sell back the bonds after two years. Markets on Thursday signaled partial support, when prices for Argentina's dollar bonds issued under foreign or local laws rose marginally. Auctions like this could be replicated but other steps are crucial, said Armando Armenta, senior economist at AllianceBernstein. "It would be better to see more foreign direct inflows and, more importantly, the central bank purchasing reserves to meet the net international reserve accumulation targets," Armenta said. "This would open the door for Argentina to access the dollar sovereign debt market early next year." On Thursday, peso-denominated debt prices fell and the 10-year local note yield rose, roughly to 27% from 26%. "These rates in pesos are very high, considering their expectations of inflation falling towards 10% in the next two years," said Clyde Wardle, senior emerging markets FX strategist at HSBC, of the yield paid this week. If the current 47% inflation keeps falling sharply, those rates will turn out to be very high and raise the risk of pushing the government to print pesos to pay bondholders, he said. The new offering's yield was well above the expectations of local brokerage Puente, which noted that it "does not indicate strong conviction regarding the future evolution and sustainability of the (currency exchange)." The peso has fallen about 9% to the dollar since capital controls were loosened in mid-April. Argentina has promised the IMF to add $4.4 billion to its net reserves by mid-June. Those reserves were in the red in December and analysts doubt the June objective will be met. The new bond shows investor limits for now, HSBC's Wardle said. "It is unlikely Argentina could find an affordable dollar-denominated issuance rate that attracts foreign investor interest. There is still too much uncertainty about growth."
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Argentina Sells Peso Bonds Abroad for First Time Since Macri Era
Argentina sold local currency debt to foreign investors, raising roughly $1 billion that will help boost central bank reserves a month after President Javier Milei's government lifted most currency controls. The five-year peso bonds carry a coupon of 29.5%, more than what some local banks had expected, Finance Secretary Pablo Quirno said in a social media post on Wednesday evening. The notes also include a two-year put option, offering investors an early exit before another presidential vote takes place in 2027.
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Milei Gets Tuttle Twins to Teach Free Markets to Argentine Kids
After denouncing it as a propaganda tool for the left, Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei is relaunching a state-run TV channel for kids set to feature a cartoon teaching free market economics while stressing the evils of taxes and communism. Paka Paka, first introduced by leftist former President Cristina Kirchner in 2010, will launch new programming in July ranging from Dragon Ball Z to Tuttle Twins, a US cartoon series that includes animated versions of free-marketeer economists Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek and Ludwig von Mises. The channel will also carry a re-tooled version of Zamba, a local history cartoon.
Fox News
3 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
Kennedy and Milei double down on WHO exit after meeting in Buenos Aires: 'Free from totalitarian control'
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. met with Argentine President Javier Milei on Tuesday at the Casa Rosada, where both leaders reaffirmed plans to withdraw their nations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and build a new international health framework. The meeting brought together two strong-willed political outsiders. Milei, a libertarian economist known for cutting government spending, and Kennedy, a Trump-appointed health chief skeptical of pandemic-era mandates. Both promised to challenge what they call global overreach and politicized health policy. Argentina officially confirmed its exit from the WHO during Kennedy's visit, following Milei's initial announcement in February. The move aligns with President Trump's revived pledge to pull the U.S. out of the WHO as part of his "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) RFK JR. FLOGS WHO FOR CAVING TO CHINA ON COVID, CELEBRATING PANDEMIC 'FAILURES' IN STUNNING VIDEO TO ORG Milei's government blasted the WHO for what it called a failed COVID response. "The WHO's prescriptions do not work because they are not based on science but on political interests and bureaucratic structures that refuse to review their own mistakes," the government said, referring to the group's lockdown strategy as a "caveman quarantine." Kennedy offered support, encouraging other countries to also exit the WHO in a recent address to the World Health Assembly. He has argued the organization is compromised by foreign governments and corporate interests, and that a fresh approach is needed. After the meeting, Kennedy posted on X: "I had a wonderful meeting with President Milei about the mutual withdrawal of our nations from the WHO and the creation of an alternative international health system... free from totalitarian impulses, corruption, and political control." Both governments say the new alliance will prioritize real science, individual freedom, and national sovereignty, pushing back against what Milei's team calls "interference" from global MILEI SHUTS UP CRITICS WITH MIRACLE TURNAROUND OF ECONOMY, STRONG SECURITY POLICIES The meeting also highlighted shared philosophies between the two leaders. Milei took office vowing to slash Argentina's massive public spending. He famously carried a chainsaw during his campaign to symbolize budget cuts—and has since followed through, cutting public salaries, halting state projects, and ending energy subsidies. His tough measures have produced results: Argentina posted its first budget surplus in nearly 15 years and sharply reduced monthly inflation. Kennedy's MAHA campaign echoes Milei's anti-establishment style, but in the health sector. The Trump administration's health agenda has focused on rolling back federal overreach, enforcing science-based policy, and promoting transparency in public health. Tuesday's meeting marks a deeper alignment between Argentina and the current U.S. administration. Milei has welcomed top American officials in recent months and shown clear interest in building strong ties with Washington. Now, by joining the U.S. in rejecting the WHO, Milei becomes the first foreign leader to openly back Trump's health sovereignty push. The decision is a major departure from Argentina's previous international partnerships and could signal a shift for other countries weighing similar moves. Both Milei and Kennedy have framed the initiative as the start of a more accountable and independent global health network. Critics, including some in Argentina's opposition, warn that leaving the WHO could limit access to funding and vaccines. Global health experts largely defend the WHO's role, despite acknowledging its COVID missteps. But Milei and Kennedy appear unfazed. Argentina's health minister praised the shared "vision" between the two governments, emphasizing a joint commitment to transparency and HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
US, Argentina launching new ‘alternative' to WHO
The top health authorities of the U.S. and Argentina are launching what they call an 'alternative international health system' separate from the World Health Organization (WHO). On the first day of his second term, President Trump signed an executive starting the yearlong process of withdrawing the U.S. from the WHO. In February, Argentinian President Javier Milei followed suit. In a joint statement Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Argentine Minister of Health Mario Lugones remarked on the decision to withdraw from the global health authority. 'The WHO's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed serious structural and operational shortcomings that undermined global trust and highlighted the urgent need for independent, science-based leadership in global health,' their statement read. 'There are well-documented concerns regarding the early management of the pandemic and the risks associated with certain types of research. Rather than ensuring timely transparency, the WHO failed to provide critical access to information, impairing countries' ability to act swiftly and effectively, with devastating global consequences.' Trump had started the process of withdrawing from the global health body during his first term, but former President Biden reversed the move before it took effect. On a post on the social platform X, Kennedy said he met with Milei to discuss the creation of an 'alternative international health system based on gold-standard science and free from totalitarian impulses, corruption, and political control.' The WHO was responsible for collecting and disseminating data about the spread of the coronavirus during the pandemic, but retrospective observations have identified areas where the international group fell short. The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, established by the WHO to derive lessons from past epidemics for the future, in a 2021 report identified missed steps to mitigate or potentially prevent the COVID-19 pandemic. Their report noted that despite consistent messaging and reporting on global preparedness before COVID-19, the majority or prior recommendations agreed upon by the WHO were never implemented. 'Although public health officials, infectious disease experts, and previous international commissions and reviews had warned of potential pandemics and urged robust preparations since the first outbreak of SARS, COVID-19 still took large parts of the world by surprise. It should not have done,' the independent panel found. 'The number of infectious disease outbreaks has been accelerating, many of which have pandemic potential. It is clear to the Panel that the world was not prepared and had ignored warnings which resulted in a massive failure: an outbreak of SARS-COV-2 became a devastating pandemic.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
