YPF stuns creditors as nation’s dollars dwindle

In the 99 years since it was founded to pump the oil fields of Patagonia, Argentina’s energy driller YPF SA has been whipsawed by countless booms and busts. If global oil markets weren’t collapsing, it seemed, then Argentina was mired in a debt crisis that was wreaking havoc on the whole nation’s finances. Never, though, … Read more

What we learned this week: January 9 to 16

THE WEEK IN CORONAVIRUS Argentina crossed the grim threshold of 45,000 deaths from Covid-19 on Thursday to close the week at 45,227 deaths and 1,783,047 confirmed cases of contagion since last March. The latest stage of quarantine (still not defined at press time for last Saturday’s edition) ended up delegating new restrictions to the provinces … Read more

Trump departs office, trailed by pandemic and job losses

Donald Trump departs Washington on Wednesday with US citizens more politically divided and more likely to be out of work than when he arrived, while awaiting trial for his second impeachment – an ignominious end to one of the most turbulent presidencies in American history. Trump intends to leave in the morning for his Mar-a-Lago club … Read more

Oaktree, BlackRock are among YPF creditors organising

Investment firms including Oaktree Capital Management and BlackRock Inc. are organising into two groups to negotiate with YPF SA after the Argentine oil producer proposed a debt swap that would saddle them with losses, according to people familiar with the matter. BlackRock is among a consortium of experienced emerging-market investors such as Ashmore Group Plc … Read more