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

Should he stay or should he go?

How long will he last? First, he suffered a last second modification to the 2021 budget which increased the fiscal deficit substantially. Then, he was forced to swallow a sudden change to the formula used to calculate retiree and pension payments, further increasing pressure on already strained government coffers, orchestrated by none other than Senate … Read more