On Sat, 22 Dec 2001, Doug Henwood wrote:
> Argentina's room for maneuver is very limited. It's a small country
> with big debts. It has less wiggle room than a larger country, like
> Brazil. If it were to default as a conscious, explictly rebellious
> strategy, it would be screwed - frozen out of global markets, unable
> to finance the import of basic goods. Without a change in the
> creditor countries, or without the formation of a serious and large
> debtors' cartel, there's not much the Argentinas of the world can do.
Wouldn't indexed pesification amount to a controlled default? Reducing the value of the outstanding dollar debts by the amount that the peso sinks once it's allowed to "float?" Do you think the powers that be won't let it happen? And that outside investors won't be interested in Argentine assets once they become a lot cheaper?
Michael
__________________________________________________________________________ Michael Pollak................New York City..............mpollak at panix.com