Argentina’s “recycled” predictions of “cataclysmic repercussions” failed last month before the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in the battle over unpaid sovereign bond debt. It is now time for Buenos Aires to negotiate with its adversaries, said BNAmericas.
The three-judge panel clearly expressed that Argentina’s case “is a unique one of intransigent behavior” on the part of a country that has refused to “negotiate” over issues resulting from sovereign policy.
While the court is “mindful” that regard be given to public consequences, the predictions by Argentina are “speculative, hyperbolic, and almost entirely of the Republic’s own making,” US Circuit Judge Barrington Parker wrote in the opinion.
“We believe that the interest — one widely shared in the financial community — in maintaining New York’s status as one of the foremost commercial centers is advanced by requiring debtors, including foreign debtors, to pay their debts,” said the judgment.
Enforcement of the decision in favor of “holdout” bondholders has been stayed, however, pending an appeal to the US Supreme Court. In a brief, holdouts reminded the top court of Argentina’s continued “disdain for the authority of the United States judicial system.”
Since a 2001 default, Argentina has locked horns with a group of hedge funds led by Aurelius Capital Management and Elliott Management Corp.’s NML unit. The ruling said if Argentina maintains payments to creditors who accepted a discounted restructuring offer, then the holdouts are due some US$ 1.33 billion in principal and interest.
Source: Business News America. Read More »