Aurelia Butler

LONDON (Reuters) -The International Monetary Fund’s board of executive directors met on Friday to discuss the $44 billion Argentine programme for the first time since Silvina Batakis’ appointment as economy minister, two people with direct knowledge of the meeting said.The IMF later confirmed the meeting had taken place and gave no further details.In an informal meeting, the fund’s staff said Batakis, who was sworn-in on Monday, was in the process of selecting her team, and once ready the first contacts between technical level IMF officials and new Argentine officials will be made.Staff also informed the Board that they were keeping a close watch on market conditions, as some of Argentina’s dollar bonds were now trading in very distressed territory under 20 cents on the dollar, said one of the people.Both asked not to be named because talks are confidential.”IMF staff regularly hold information sessions with Executive Board Members on policy and country matters,” an IMF spokesperson said via email.”In this context, today IMF staff briefed the Executive Board on recent economic developments in Argentina.”Argentina’s economy ministry did not reply to a request for comment.The purpose of the meeting was to update the board on the state of affairs in Argentina, the fund’s largest debtor, the sources said.The meeting was attended by Ilan Goldfajn and Julie Kozack, the head and deputy director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department, as well as Luis Cubeddu, the IMF’s chief of mission to the country. Sergio Chodos, who will continue to be Argentina’s representative at the IMF, was also present.Former economy minister Martin Guzman, the architect of the South American country’s deal with the IMF, resigned abruptly on Saturday as tensions within the government coalition boiled on how to handle the economic crisis.His departure sparked concerns of a shift towards populist policies and state spending in the country where inflation is running above 60%.Overseas bond prices fell amid raising concerns that the new government would seek to change the terms of the IMF deal.The executive board completed on June 24 the first review of the extended fund facility (EFF) programme and released $4 billion after the fund said Argentina met all end-March 2022 quantitative targets and made progress toward implementing the structural commitments under the program.Separately on Friday, the Argentine government said it made scheduled payments to the Fund for about $1.3 billion.Earlier this week, Batakis told IMF officials that she supported the objectives of the fund’s programme and would work constructively with the global lender.IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday she had a “very good call” with Batakis about the continuation of the programme. After a private debt restructuring and an IMF deal, Argentina still needs to work on some $2 billion it owes the Paris Club of creditor nations. Talks were originally scheduled to continue this week, but the meeting in the French capital was postponed after Guzman’s resignation. A Paris Club source said on Thursday that the new economy minister must give her commitment to an IMF programme in order for the club to open talks. More

The agency said it expects government revenue to grow this year, helped by strong personal and corporate income taxes. (https:// Fitch maintained its sovereign rating at ‘AAA’ on structural strengths such as the size of the economy, high per capita income, and a dynamic business environment.Last month, Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) also affirmed its highest sovereign rating of “Aaa” for the country. The ratings agency said it expects the economy to remain resilient to current challenges from high inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.The U.S. economy has been on recession watch as the Federal Reserve aggressively tightens monetary policy to tackle inflation. The U.S. central bank last month raised its policy rate by three-quarters of a percentage point, its biggest hike since 1994. More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Wall Street ended the day flat on Friday as Treasury yields jumped following a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report, which suggested the Federal Reserve may push further interest rate hikes to cool the economy and slow inflation.Oil prices rose over 2% on Friday, but still were down on the week following a steep sell-off days earlier on concerns about energy demand in a potential economic slowdown. Strong data from the U.S. Labor Department, which reported the United States added more jobs than expected in June, indicated a recession was not yet imminent amid persistent job growth, and gives the Fed scope to deliver another large interest rate increase later this month.Nonfarm payrolls jumped by 372,000 jobs in June, well above economists’ expectations. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.6%.All three U.S. stock indices ended the week largely unchanged, as investors balanced solid economic news with the prospect of more rate hikes.The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.15%, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.12%.”There has been a lot of doom and gloom recently, so a strong labor market read may assuage some fear of a recession and shows the resilient nature of our economy with a robust labor market in the face of hot inflation. The Fed is committed to raising rates aggressively to cool it, which will likely result in continued volatility,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS). Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on Friday he backed another three quarters of a percentage point interest rate increase, underlining the Fed’s determination in tackling inflation.Oil prices enjoyed a reprieve, but still ended the week lower after a steep sell-off earlier in the week on concerns over dwindling demand.Brent crude was up 2.3% to settle at $107.02 a barrel. U.S. crude rose 2% to settle at $104.79 per barrel.The dollar index was flat on the day after earlier hitting its highest level since 2002. And the euro drew close to parity with dollar last seen in mid-2002, having fallen 3% against the dollar this week on economic and energy concerns emanating from Europe. The euro was last up 0.19% at $1.01805.Looming rate hikes also helped push Treasury yields higher, as a key part of the yield curve tracked as a recession indicator inverted further. Benchmark 10-year yields were last at 3.0822%, up from around 2.989% before the data. Two-year yields jumped to 3.0985%, from around 3.001%.,The two-year, 10-year part of the Treasury yield curve inverted on Tuesday for the first time in three weeks. An inversion in this part of the curve is seen as a reliable indicator that a recession will follow in one to two years.The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 45 nations, was up 0.12%. More

Total consumer credit increased by $22.35 billion, the smallest since January, after rising by a downwardly revised $36.76 billion in April, the Federal Reserve said on Friday.Economists polled by Reuters had expected consumer credit to climb $31.90 billion after a previously reported $38.07 billion advance in April.Revolving credit, which mostly measures credit-card usage, rose only by $7.419 billion after increasing $17.96 billion in the prior month. The slowdown in revolving credit could partially explain the modest gain in consumer spending in May.With annual consumer prices surging at a rate last seen more than 40 years ago, some Americans have been turning to credit cards to pay for essentials like gasoline and food. Rising interest rates and mounting fears of a recession as the Fed aggressively tightens monetary to cool inflation could be discouraging some from taking on too much debt. The U.S. central bank has raised its policy rate by 150 basis points since March.Nonrevolving credit, which includes auto loans as well as student loans made by the government, increased by $14.93 billion in May. That followed a $18.80 billion rise in April. More