Argentina

Argentina Freezes Supermarket Prices To Halt Soaring Inflation; Chaos To Follow

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– Argentina Freezes Supermarket Prices To Halt Soaring Inflation; Chaos To Follow (ZeroHedge, Feb 5, 2013):

Up until now, Argentina’s descent into a hyperinflationary basket case, with a crashing currency and loss of outside funding was relatively moderate and controlled. All this is about to change. Today, in a futile attempt to halt inflation, the government of Cristina Kirchner announced a two-month price freeze on supermarket products. The price freeze applies to every product in all of the nation’s largest supermarkets — a group including Walmart, Carrefour, Coto, Jumbo, Disco and other large chains. The companies’ trade group, representing 70 percent of the Argentine supermarket sector, reached the accord with Commerce Secretary Guillermo Moreno, the government’s news agency Telam reported. As AP reports, “The commerce ministry wants consumers to keep receipts and complain to a hotline about any price hikes they see before April 1.”

Read moreArgentina Freezes Supermarket Prices To Halt Soaring Inflation; Chaos To Follow

Argentina: Looting Breaks Out, Government Sends Hundreds Of Troops

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– Looting Breaks Out In Argentina (ZeroHedge, Dec 21, 2012):

If you were wondering why the Argentinian leadership were unwilling to pay off a few ‘annoying’ hedge funds with a few billion dollars (and were pissed about losing one yacht), then perhaps this report from the BBC will enlighten. Argentina authorities have sent hundreds of troops to the southern city of Bariloche after a spate of looting. Critically, Bariloche is not some shanty-town, it is one of the nation’s most popular ski resorts and ‘relatively’ affluent. The following clip sums up the dangerous situation the nation finds itself in, despite the government’s assurances that this is a “false picture of social and political collapse.” Looks real to us?
Click image for link to clip (not embeddable)

Via BBC:

Argentine authorities have sent hundreds of troops to the southern city of Bariloche after a spate of looting.

At least three supermarkets in the popular ski resort were targeted, causing panic among local residents and tourists.

Read moreArgentina: Looting Breaks Out, Government Sends Hundreds Of Troops

Fitch Downgrades Argentina’s Credit Rating And Predicts Default

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See also:

– All You Need To Know About Argentina’s Upcoming ‘Technical Default’

– Argentina Orders Arrest Of Former U.S. Treasury Undersecretary

– Argentina: Third Of U.S. Dollar Deposits Withdrawn Since November Because Of Government Imposed Capital Controls

Flashback (This is also coming to the US & Europe):

– Argentina’s Economic Collapse (Documentary)

– Fitch downgrades Argentina and predicts default (Telegraph, Nov 27, 2012):

Credit rating agency Fitch has downgraded Argentina, which is locked in a court battle in New York over its debt, and said the country would probably default.

Fitch cut its long-term rating for Argentina to “CC” from “B,” a downgrade of five notches, and cut its short-term rating to “C” from “B”. A rating of “C” is one step above default, AP reported.

US judge Thomas Griesa of Manhattan federal court last week ordered Argentina to set aside $1.3bn for certain investors in its bonds by December 15, even as Argentina pursues appeals.

Read moreFitch Downgrades Argentina’s Credit Rating And Predicts Default

21 Signs That The Global Economic Crisis Is About To Go To A Whole New Level

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– 21 Signs That The Global Economic Crisis Is About To Go To A Whole New Level (Economic Collapse, Oct 14, 2012):

The global debt crisis has reached a dangerous new phase.  Unfortunately, most Americans are not taking notice of it yet because most of the action is taking place overseas, and because U.S. financial markets are riding high.  But just because the global economic crisis is unfolding at the pace of a “slow-motion train wreck” right now does not mean that it isn’t incredibly dangerous.  As I have written about previously, the economic collapse is not going to be a single event.  Yes, there will be days when the Dow drops by more than 500 points.  Yes, there will be days when the reporters on CNBC appear to be hyperventilating.  But mostly there will be days of quiet despair as the global economic system slides even further toward oblivion.  And right now things are clearly getting worse.  Things in Greece are much worse than they were six months ago.  Things in Spain are much worse than they were six months ago.  The same thing could be said for Italy, France, Japan, Argentina and a whole bunch of other nations.  The entire global economy is slowing down, and we are entering a time period that is going to be incredibly painful for everyone.  At the moment, the U.S. is still experiencing a “sugar high” from unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus, but when that “sugar high” wears off the hangover will be excruciating.  Reckless borrowing, spending and money printing has bought us a brief period of “economic stability”, but our foolish financial decisions will also make our eventual collapse far worse than it might have been.  So don’t think for a second that the U.S. will somehow escape the coming global economic crisis.  The truth is that before this is all over we will be seen as one of the primary causes of the crisis.

The following are 21 signs that the global economic crisis is about to go to a whole new level….

Read more21 Signs That The Global Economic Crisis Is About To Go To A Whole New Level

Argentina Orders Arrest Of Former U.S. Treasury Undersecretary

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– Argentine judge orders arrest of Credit Suisse executive (Reuters, Sep 3, 2012):

* Court probe dates back to 2001 debt exchange

* State news agency says Mulford failed to testify

* Mulford was U.S. Treasury undersecretary, ambassador

BUENOS AIRES, Sept 3 (Reuters) – A judge in Argentina has ordered the arrest of Credit Suisse executive and former U.S. Treasury Undersecretary David Mulford because he failed to testify over a 2001 Argentine debt swap, the state news agency reported on Monday.

Federal Judge Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi will ask Interpol to issue an international arrest warrant seeking Mulford’s extradition for questioning over the bond exchange carried out by the government in an unsuccessful bid to avoid default.

Read moreArgentina Orders Arrest Of Former U.S. Treasury Undersecretary

Argentina: Third Of U.S. Dollar Deposits Withdrawn Since November Because Of Government Imposed Capital Controls

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– Argentina loses a third of its dollar deposits (Reuters, June 8, 2012):

* Argentines reacting to foreign exchange restrictions

* About $100 mln in dollars withdrawn every day

* Rush toward greenback started in November

BUENOS AIRES, June 8 (Reuters) – Argentine banks have seen a third of their U.S. dollar deposits withdrawn since November as savers chase greenbacks in response to stiffening foreign exchange restrictions, local banking sources said on Friday.

Depositors withdrew a total of about $100 million per day over the last month in a safe-haven bid fueled by uncertainty over policies that might be adopted as pressure grows to keep U.S. currency in the country.

The chase for dollars is motivated by fear that the government may further toughen its clamp down on access to the U.S. currency as high inflation and lack of faith in government policy erode the local peso.

Read moreArgentina: Third Of U.S. Dollar Deposits Withdrawn Since November Because Of Government Imposed Capital Controls

Farmers Sue Monsanto And US Tobacco Giants Knowingly Poisoned Argentinean Tobacco Farmers With Pesticides, Causing ‘Devastating Birth Defects’ In Their Children

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Flashback:

– Monsanto Secretly Poisoning Population With Roundup – Scientist And Friends Attacked For Exposing Roundup Link To Birth Defects

– ROUNDUP: Birth Defects Caused By World’s Top-Selling Weedkiller, Scientists Say

– Roundup Birth Defects: Regulators Knew World’s Best-Selling Herbicide Causes Problems, New Report Finds

– Scientists Warn Of Dangerous New Pathogen From Roundup Ready Treated Monsanto GM Crops Causing Infertility And Spontaneous Abortions

– Roundup, GMOs linked to emergence of deadly new pathogen causing spontaneous abortions among animals

– Monsanto’s Roundup Triggers Over 40 Plant Diseases and Endangers Human and Animal Health

– Study: Monsanto’s Roundup Kills Human Cells (Flashback)

– Scientist: Monsanto’s herbicide could cause brain, intestinal and heart defects in foetuses

– Monsanto and Big Tobacco Blamed for Birth Defects (Courthouse News Service, April 10, 2012):

WILMINGTON, Del. (CN) – Monsanto, Philip Morris and other U.S. tobacco giants knowingly poisoned Argentinean tobacco farmers with pesticides, causing “devastating birth defects” in their children, dozens of workers claim in court.

The farmers, on their own behalf and for their injured children, sued Altria Group fka Philip Morris Cos., Philip Morris USA, Carolina Leaf Tobacco, Universal Corporation fka Universal Leaf Tobacco Company, Monsanto, and their affiliates and Argentine subsidiaries, in New Castle County Court.

The farmers grow tobacco on small family-owned farms in Misiones Province and sell it to U.S. tobacco distributors. Most of Argentina’s tobacco is grown in Misiones, a rural northeastern province.

The farmers claim the tobacco companies asked them to use herbicides, pesticides and other toxic products made and distributed by Monsanto, and assured them the products were safe.

They say the defendants “wrongfully caused the parental and infant plaintiffs to be exposed to those chemicals and substances which they both knew, or should have known, would cause the infant offspring of the parental plaintiffs to be born with devastating birth defects.”

Birth defects cited in the 55-page complaint include cerebral palsy, psychomotor retardation, epilepsy, spina bifida, intellectual disabilities, metabolic disorders, congenital heart defects, Down syndrome, missing fingers and blindness.

The farmers claim Philip Morris and Carolina Leaf used a tobacco brokerage company, Tabacos Norte, to buy tobacco from the farmers and sell them crop production supplies, including herbicides and pesticides.

Tabacos Norte, based in Misiones, was created by Carolina Leaf and Philip Morris’ Argentine subsidiary in 1984, to produce tobacco fit for the North and South American markets, according to the complaint.

The farmers say the tobacco companies that bought their crops asked them to replace the native tobacco with a new type, used in Philip Morris cigarettes, which required more pesticides.

They say the defendants pushed for excessive use of pesticides and failed to warn them of the dangers or provide them with information or protective gear.

Most farmers in Misiones used Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide made by Monsanto, to kill weeds and clear tobacco fields, according to the complaint.

Read moreFarmers Sue Monsanto And US Tobacco Giants Knowingly Poisoned Argentinean Tobacco Farmers With Pesticides, Causing ‘Devastating Birth Defects’ In Their Children

International Currencies Increasingly Rejected In The Face Of Inflation

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– International Currencies Increasingly Rejected in the Face of Inflation (Activist Post, Feb. 16, 2012)

Related info:

– 1400 Barter Clubs In Argentina – Barter Clubs Boom, Have Become A Parallel Economy (Video)

– Argentina’s Economic Collapse (Documentary) (!!!)

Catherine Austin Fitts at the IRTA 08 Barter Convention:

– Former Assistant Secretary of Housing: The U.S. is the Global Leader in Illegal Money Laundering (Video)

Hugo Chavez: Venezuelan Troops Would Fight With Argentina Against Britain Over Falkland Islands

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– Hugo Chavez says Venezuelan troops would fight with Argentina over Falklands (Telegraph, Feb. 6, 2012):

Hugo Chavez has pledged that Venezuelan armed forces would fight alongside Argentina against Britain in any future conflict over the Falkland Islands at a regional meeting this weekend.

The eight member countries of the Bolivarian Alliance bloc, or ALBA, met to approve an agreement barring any boats flying Falkland Islands flags from docking in their ports.

1400 Barter Clubs In Argentina – Barter Clubs Boom, Have Become A Parallel Economy (Video)

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YouTube Added:10.10.2011

Flashback:

– Argentina’s Economic Collapse (Documentary)

Catherine Austin Fitts at the IRTA 08 Barter Convention:

– Former Assistant Secretary of Housing: The U.S. is the Global Leader in Illegal Money Laundering (Video)

Inflation, Hyperinflation and Real Estate (Price Collaps)

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See also:

– Argentina’s Economic Collapse (Documentary)

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– Inflation, Hyperinflation and Real Estate (or, The Lessons of The Great Hernán P.) (Gonzalo Lira, February 12, 2011):

“Hyperinflation accompanied by a housing collapse is simply impossible—by definition.”
– None-too-clever financial blogger.

Most people in the advanced economies—including most economists—really don’t have any idea what inflation and hyperinflation is. They don’t have a clue because they haven’t lived through it, or were children when it happened in the States and in Europe during the Seventies.

Read moreInflation, Hyperinflation and Real Estate (Price Collaps)

WWF In Bed With Monsanto, Destroying Nature (Documentary)

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The documentary is in German.

WWF – Der Pakt mit dem Panda (1 of 2):

Added: 22.06.2011

WWF – Der Pakt mit dem Panda (2 of 2):

Added: 22.06.2011

Eine mutige WDR/SWR-Produktion über die Machenschaften des World Wildlife Fund.

Argentina’s Economic Collapse (Full Documentary)

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Very important flashback!

Documentary on the events that led to the economic collapse of Argentina in 2001 which wiped out the middle class and raised the level of poverty to 57.5%.

Central to the collapse was the implementation of neo-liberal policies which enabled the swindle of billions of dollars by foreign banks and corporations.

Many of Argentina’s assets and resources were shamefully plundered.

Its financial system was even used for money laundering by Citibank, Credit Suisse, and JP Morgan.

The net result was massive wealth transfers and the impoverishment of society which culminated in many deaths due to oppression and malnutrition.

Official name: Memoria del Saqueo by Fernando Solanas 2003.

Argentine Lab Clones Cow To Produce Human-Like Milk

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Related article:

– Genetically Modified Cows Produce ‘Human’ Milk (Telegraph, April 2, 2011):

The researchers used cloning technology to introduce human genes into the DNA of Holstein dairy cows before the genetically modified embryos were implanted into surrogate cows.

However, during two experiments by the Chinese researchers, which resulted in 42 transgenic calves being born, just 26 of the animals survived after ten died shortly after birth, most with gastrointestinal disease, and a further six died within six months of birth.

– Argentine lab clones cow to produce human-like milk (AFP, 10 Jun, 2011):

An Argentine laboratory announced that it had created the world’s first transgenic cow, using human genes that will allow the animal to produce the equivalent of mothers’ milk.

“The cloned cow, named Rosita ISA, is the first bovine born in the world that incorporates human genes that contain the proteins present in human milk,” Argentina’s National Institute of Agrobusiness Technology said in a statement on Thursday.

Rosita ISA was born on April 6 by Ceasarian because she weighed more than 45 kilos (99 pounds), about twice the normal weight of Jersey cows, according to the statement.

As an adult, “the cow will produce milk that is similar to humans,” the statement said.

“Our goal was to raise the nutritional value of cows’ milk by adding two human genes, the protein lactoferrin, which provides infants with anti-bacterial and anti-viral protection, and lysozyme, which is also an anti-bacterial agent,” said researcher Adrian Mutto at a press conference.

Read moreArgentine Lab Clones Cow To Produce Human-Like Milk

James Turk on the US Dollar, the Euro, Hyperinflation, Gold And Silver

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James Turk’s presentation on the gold price and the US dollar

Added: 05.06.2011

James Turk of the GoldMoney Foundation speaks about currency devaluation and the rising gold price. How the gold price is rising against all major currencies and monetary policy is political, having abandoned all pretence of seeking monetary stability. He warns of the dangers of a hyperinflationary crisis. James also explains why gold should be considered money and not an investment.

He also talks of the coming dollar collapse and the waterfall decline in the dollar, especially since Ben Bernanke’s words on QE. He talks of different examples of hyperinflation from paper money hyperinflation in Weimar Germany to deposit currency hyperinflation in Argentina. The presentation was held on 29 April 2011 in Munich, Germany.

Argentina’s Authorities Seize Undeclared Weapons And Drugs on a US Military Aircraft

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Morphine for training exercises? Sure!!!

(AFP) — Argentina and the United States are engaged in a diplomatic spat after Buenos Aires authorities seized what they say are undeclared weapons and drugs on a US military aircraft last week.

The Argentine government on Monday said it planned to lodge a formal protest with Washington, while the US State Department said it was “puzzled and disturbed” by the seizure of what it claimed was routine equipment for training the Argentine federal police.

Officials in Argentina said the US Air Force C-17 transport plane was searched and its cargo seized by customs officials on Thursday at Ezeiza International Airport after arriving with experts and material for a hostage rescue training exercise.

In a statement late Sunday, President Cristina Kirchner’s government said it would lodge a protest with Washington and ask it to cooperate in a probe into the air force’s attempt “to violate Argentine laws by bringing in hidden material in an official shipment.”

Argentina has said it seized “sensitive material” that had not been declared in a manifest submitted by the US embassy.

“Among the material seized, which the State Department makes no reference to, are from weapons to different drugs, including various doses of morphine,” the foreign ministry said in Sunday’s statement.

State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said “we are puzzled and disturbed by the actions of Argentine officials,” adding they conducted what he called “an unusual and unannounced search of the aircraft’s cargo.”

Read moreArgentina’s Authorities Seize Undeclared Weapons And Drugs on a US Military Aircraft

Strong 7.0 Earthquake Hits Northern Argentina

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A strong earthquake has struck in northern Argentina, but it was not immediately clear if there were any injuries or damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey said Saturday that the magnitude-7.0 quake hit at 6:56 a.m. about 150 kilometers (115 miles) northeast of Santiago del Estero at a depth of 563 kilometers (350 miles).

Read moreStrong 7.0 Earthquake Hits Northern Argentina

Argentina Has Colder Winter Than Antartica, Spurring Record Energy Imports

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Argentina is importing record amounts of energy as the coldest winter in 40 years drives up demand and causes natural-gas shortages, prompting Dow Chemical Co. and steelmaker Siderar SAIC to scale back production.

Electricity supplied from Brazil and Paraguay rose to a daily combined record of about 1,000 megawatts on July 12, while consumption peaked at 20,396 megawatts three days later, according to Buenos Aires-based energy broker Cammesa. Shipments of liquefied natural gas are set to double this year.

Dow, Siderar and aluminum maker Aluar Aluminio Argentino SAIC are among companies closing plants, cutting output or seeking alternative energy sources after temperatures in parts of Argentina fell below those of Antarctica on July 15. Rising demand is exacerbating a shortage that began six years ago as economic growth accelerated and energy investment fell. The shortage is boosting costs as companies spend more to guarantee supplies.

“The situation is getting worse, because the shortage period is growing every year,” Gerardo Rabinovich, a director at the General Mosconi Energy Institute in Buenos Aires and an adviser to the opposition Radical Party, said in a telephone interview. “When this started in 2004, it lasted for about a week, then it was two weeks and now it’s more than a month.”

In July, temperatures in Buenos Aires were, on average, 1 degree Celsius below the usual low and high of 8 and 14 degrees (46 and 57 degrees Farenheit), with temperatures plummeting to about 2 degrees Celsius on July 15.

Read moreArgentina Has Colder Winter Than Antartica, Spurring Record Energy Imports

California Now One Of The Top 10 Government Default Risks In The World

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With the liquidity crisis surrounding the rollover of Greek debt subsiding, the probability of default for that country has plummeted from nearly even odds to just over one in three.

Last Week’s Numbers: 06 May 2010

highest-default-probabilities

Meanwhile, other state and national governments are showing continued stress. Venezuela tops the list with a CDS spread of 1049 and a risk of default now over 50%. Argentina and Pakistan are also now ahead of Greece which is now only the 4th most likely government in the world to default.

Most recent numbers: 11 May 2010

highest-default-probailities-2010-05-11

The usual suspects are on the list including Dubai, Ukraine and Latvia. The one thing to notice is that California has now cracked the top ten with a 20% default probability. For California muni bond holders, this number bears watching.

Read moreCalifornia Now One Of The Top 10 Government Default Risks In The World

Prof. Nouriel Roubini: ‘In A Few Days Time, There Might Not Be A Eurozone For Us To Discuss’

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‘Spain is worse than Greece.’

nouriel-roubini-001
Prof. Nouriel Roubini

– Roubini on Greece (Reuters):

Meanwhile, Tony Barber has already come to the conclusion that as far as Greece is concerned, “the political conditions for extra financial help from Germany just do not exist”.

Nouriel, of course, takes that kind of thinking to its logical conclusion, and kicked off the panel by announcing that it was just in time: “in a few days,” he said, “there might not be a eurozone for us to discuss.” There’s no way that Greece can implement the 10% spending cut it needs to do in order to stop its debt spiralling out of control at current interest rates — and even if it did, the economic effects would be disastrous.

Nouriel’s base case, then, is Argentina 2001: after all, Greece has a much higher debt-to-GDP ratio, much higher deficit-to-GDP ratio, and much higher current-account deficit than Argentina had back then. And if that’s the base case, there’s no way that Greek debt should be trading anywhere near its current levels.

Of course, this being Nouriel, it goes downhill from there: if Greece is worse than Argentina, he says, then Spain is worse than Greece. Its housing bubble and bust has left the banking sector much weaker than Greece’s; its unemployment situation, especially with the under-30 crowd, is much worse than Greece’s; and the cost of any Spain bailout would be so much more enormous than the cost of a Greek bailout as to be almost unthinkable. The only thing that Spain has going for it is that it isn’t quite at the edge of the abyss yet; if it gets its political act together and implements tough fiscal and structural reforms now, it can save itself. But clearly no one saw that happening, given Spain’s political history over the past 20 years.

Apr 27, 2010 22:14 EDT

See also:

– Greece: Bondholders May Lose $265 Billion as S&P Sees 70% Loss (Bloomberg)

– Standard & Poor’s Downgrades Greece’s Credit Rating to Junk (Bloomberg)

Cable ties Kissinger to Chile controversy

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WASHINGTON — As secretary of state, Henry Kissinger canceled a U.S. warning against carrying out international political assassinations that was to have gone to Chile and two neighboring nations just days before a former ambassador was killed by Chilean agents on Washington’s Embassy Row in 1976, a newly released State Department cable shows.

Whether Kissinger played a role in blocking the delivery of the warning against assassination to the governments of Chile, Argentina and Uruguay has long been a topic of controversy.

Discovered in recent weeks by the National Security Archive, a non-profit research organization, the Sept. 16, 1976 cable is among tens of thousands of declassified State Department documents recently made available to the public.

In 1976, the South American nations of Chile, Argentina and Uruguay were engaged in a program of repression code-named Operation Condor that targeted those governments’ political opponents throughout Latin America, Europe and even the United States.

Based on information from the CIA, the U.S. State Department became concerned that Condor included plans for political assassination around the world. The State Department drafted a plan to deliver a stern message to the three governments not to engage in such murders.

Read moreCable ties Kissinger to Chile controversy

Catastrophic Fall in 2009 Global Food Production

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“Global food Catastrophe”

“The world is heading for a drop in agricultural production of 20 to 40 percent, depending on the severity and length of the current global droughts. Food producing nations are imposing food export restrictions. Food prices will soar, and, in poor countries with food deficits, millions will starve.”

This article is a must-read.

After reading about the droughts in two major agricultural countries, China and Argentina, I decided to research the extent other food producing nations were also experiencing droughts. This project ended up taking a lot longer than I thought. 2009 looks to be a humanitarian disaster around much of the world

To understand the depth of the food Catastrophe that faces the world this year, consider the graphic below depicting countries by USD value of their agricultural output, as of 2006.

Now, consider the same graphic with the countries experiencing droughts highlighted.

The countries that make up two thirds of the world’s agricultural output are experiencing drought conditions. Whether you watch a video of the drought in China, Australia, Africa, South America, or the US, the scene will be the same: misery, ruined crop, and dying cattle.

China

The drought in Northern China, the worst in 50 years, is worsening, and summer harvest is now threatened. The area of affected crops has expanded to 161 million mu (was 141 million last week), and 4.37 million people and 2.1 million livestock are facing drinking water shortage. The scarcity of rain in some parts of the north and central provinces is the worst in recorded history.

Read moreCatastrophic Fall in 2009 Global Food Production

Cowskulls and dust: Worst Drought in 100 Years grips Argentina

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Farmer Edgardo Vazquez walks by dead cows in Stroeder, Argentina, Monday, Jan. 19, 2009. Farmers nationwide are demanding the government’s help after a year long drought that has killed nearly one million animals and destroyed crops. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

STROEDER, Argentina (AP) – Skeletons of livestock are piling up in the scorching sun of the Southern Hemisphere’s summer as the worst drought in a generation turns much of Argentina’s breadbasket into a dust bowl.

The nation’s farm sector stands to lose $5 billion this year alone – a huge blow to the economy of Argentina, a top world exporter of soy, corn, wheat and beef – as well as to the government of President Cristina Fernandez, which faces billions of dollars in debt payments this year.

Wheat fields that once supplied flour for pasta-loving Argentines now resemble deserts, and spiny thistles are all that survive on cattle ranches in southern Buenos Aires province.

Nothing edible grows, said Hilda Schneider, a 65-year-old rancher who has lost nearly 500 cows to starvation.

Read moreCowskulls and dust: Worst Drought in 100 Years grips Argentina