Latest news with #JavierMilei
Bloomberg
11 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Argentina's Inflation Ticked Up Slightly, Less Than Expected
By Updated on Save Argentina inflation ticked up slightly and less than expected in June, another win for President Javier Milei ahead of midterm elections after a large seasonal component pulled May's reading down to a five-year low. Consumer prices rose 1.6% last month from May, less than the 1.9% median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Annual inflation slowed to 39.4%, according to government data published Monday. May's 1.5% print was the lowest since May 2020.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Argentina inflation ticks up less than expected in June
By Kylie Madry, Hernan Nessi and Walter Bianchi BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) -Argentina's monthly inflation rate slightly ticked up in June after slowing to its lowest in five years, official data showed on Monday. Prices during the month rose 1.6% from the month before, national statistics agency INDEC said, just above the 1.5% recorded in May and below the 1.9% estimate from analysts polled by Reuters. In May, monthly inflation hit its lowest since the same month in 2020, marking the lowest yet for libertarian President Javier Milei. June's data is more good news for Milei, whose austerity measures have tamped down on once eye-popping triple-digit annual inflation and have inspired confidence from investors. "Let's go, Toto!" Milei posted on X, referring to his economy minister, Luis "Toto" Caputo. "Good Argentines will cheer about 1.6% inflation, while my haters cry." Early analyst estimates predict inflation slowing further in July, despite the month typically facing seasonal price increases. Argentina had previously held the top spot for highest inflation in the region, though the No. 1 title likely now goes to Venezuela - which has stopped publishing economic data - followed by Bolivia. In the 12 months through June prices rose 39.4%, slowing from the previous month's 43.5% rate and a tad below the 39.8% rate predicted by analysts. Analysts polled by the central bank see annual inflation falling to 27% by the year's end.
Telegraph
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Javier Milei told to ‘grow up' by his vice-president
The strained relationship between Javier Milei, Argentina's president, and his vice-president has hit a new low after he shared posts on X calling her 'stupid' and a 'traitor'. Victoria Villarruel immediately responded on Instagram, telling her boss to 'behave like an adult' and accusing him of being out of touch because he lived in a 'palace'. The public spat was triggered by the senate approving motions aimed at raising pensions and allowances to compensate for inflation that still runs at 36 per cent – a reform vehemently opposed by Mr Milei. The president immediately vowed to veto the pension rise after the Bill was approved by 52 votes to four in a big setback for his radical austerity agenda. Mr Milei blamed Ms Villarruel, who presides over the senate, for failing to block the vote. 'And if, by some chance, which I don't expect will happen, but if the veto is overturned, we'll take it to court,' Mr Milei added. He then reposted the comment on X from a supporter, calling Ms Villarruel a 'traitor, demagogue and stupid in economic terms'. In her response, she said the president had already achieved a fiscal surplus for the first time in years, adding: 'Helping the most vulnerable shouldn't be so terrible. The issue is that a pensioner can't wait and a disabled female, even less.' She also called on her boss to spend less on foreign travel. In his 18 months in power, Mr Milei has gone on 24 international trips, an issue that his opponents repeatedly contrast with ordinary Argentines' drastic belt-tightening under his reforms. Relations have long been strained between the president and vice-president. Although they share a fierce antipathy to all things 'woke', the pair do not see eye to eye on most other issues. Even allies regard Mr Milei as having a one-track mind, obsessed with all things economic. But Ms Villarruel, who comes from an army family, has long been focused on justifying and minimising the serious human rights abuses that took place under the military dictatorship of the 1970s and 1980s. She is said to have been hoping to become defence minister as well as vice-president, but was instead frozen out of the president's inner circle. In May, he publicly refused to greet her during a ceremony at Buenos Aires' cathedral, something Ms Villarruel also highlighted over the weekend on Instagram, saying 'one never loses good manners'.
Reuters
15 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
US court delays turnover of Argentina's 51% YPF stake
NEW YORK, July 14 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Monday temporarily halted enforcement of an order requiring Argentina to turn over its 51% stake in oil and gas company YPF ( opens new tab to partially satisfy a $16.1 billion court judgment. The decision by U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan affords temporary relief to for the cash-strapped South American country, which has warned its economy could be destabilized if it were forced to give up the YPF stake. A turnover had been scheduled for Monday, but Preska extended the deadline to July 17 to allow time to appeal. Argentine President Javier Milei has been seeking to bolster foreign currency reserves and rein in soaring inflation while dealing with a heavy government debt burden. The dispute arose from Argentina's 2012 decision to seize the YPF stake from Spain's Repsol ( opens new tab without making a tender offer to minority shareholders Petersen Energia Inversora and Eton Park Capital Management. Those shareholders are represented by litigation funder Burford Capital (BURF.L), opens new tab, which has said it expected to receive 35% and 73% of Petersen's and Eton Park's respective damages. In September 2023, Preska ordered Argentina to pay $14.39 billion to Petersen and $1.71 billion to Eton Park. Argentina has not paid the judgment while it appeals. On June 30, Preska ordered the government to turn over the YPF stake within 14 days. The country has argued that the YPF shares were immune from turnover under the U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, while Burford said a commercial activity exception and years of evasion by Argentina justified a turnover. In a court filing on Thursday seeking to delay the turnover, Argentina told the appeals court "the stakes could not be higher." It warned that requiring a turnover would irreparably harm its sovereignty, interfere with foreign relations, violate international law and wrongly expand U.S. courts' power. Argentina likened a turnover to a foreign court ordering the U.S. government to ship gold reserves stored at Fort Knox outside the country because that court misinterpreted U.S. law. The country also said it would be unfair to give up its controlling stake in the country's largest energy company now, because doing so would likely be irrevocable even it ultimately won the case. (This story has been corrected to remove reference to 'appeals' court in the headline)
Bloomberg
15 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
US Judge Extends Argentina's YPF Handover Deadline by Three Days
The New York federal judge who gave Argentina until Monday to cede its controlling stake in YPF SA to holders of a $16 billion judgment granted the South American nation a three-day extension to seek a longer delay from an appeals court. US District Judge Loretta Preska's Monday ruling put her June 30 order on a brief hold. The appeals court could grant President Javier Milei's government even more time to argue that Preska exceeded her authority by ordering the turnover.
