The so-called “economic emergency law” announced by the new government in Argentina is simply another massive set of tariffs and burdens on the private sector to finance the bloated public expenditure, in a country where confiscatory monetary and fiscal policy is the norm. What is the big problem of the recent Economic Emergency Law? That it … Continue reading Argentina’s “Emergency Law” Means More Of The Same
(This article has been updated from posts published in Cotizalia on 25th Feb 2012 and 21 April 2012) Most of Repsol’s stake (shares amounting to 51%) in YPF was expropriated on April the 16th. The expropriation comes as Argentina’s economy slumps despite official figures that seem attractive at first glance, GDP growing 8.8%, 6.7% unemployment, … Continue reading Argentina, Repsol and the Nationalization of YPF
14th July 2011 The oil market is nervous. As we have highlighted over this blog, Chinese demand remains the main concern. China’s oil imports fell to an eight-month low in June, 5.7% lower than the month before and down by 11.5% year on year. The figures add to concerns that the Chinese government will slow … Continue reading The Shale Oil Revolution In North America and Argentina. Who Wins?
When we talk about monetary policy, people do not understand the importance of interest rates reflecting the reality of inflation and risk. Interest rates are the price of risk and manipulating them down leads to bubbles that end in financial crises, while imposing too high rates can penalize the economy. Ideally, interest rates would flow … Continue reading Central banks are wrong about rate cuts