Argentina downraded by S & P

Just coming through the wires now

Argentina placed into ‘default’ rating as debt deal deadline expires

Argentina’s credit rating was downgraded to “selective default” by Standard & Poor’s as the South American country missed Wednesday’s deadline for a grace period during ongoing negotiations with holdout debt holders.

RT,

30 July, 2014

Wednesday is the cutoff for Argentina to make good on a $539 million payment to bondholders, which was placed on hold by a US judge’s order tying that payment to ongoing litigation by vulture funds which refused the country’s original cents-on-the-dollar debt restructuring offer.

Analysts generally do not believe that a default by Argentina will have the same consequences as in 2001.

“An Argentina default is expected to be short-lived at this point and shouldn’t have any major implication for the country,” said Mauro Roca to Bloomberg, a senior Latin America economist at Goldman Sachs in New York.

“There’s the expectation that a deal with holdouts will be worked out soon.”

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