Argentina Gets $50 Billion From The IMF

ARGENTINA Betting Big The International Monetary Fund struck a deal with ailing Argentina to the tune of $50 billion in credit in an attempt to save the country’s dwindling currency and balance its crippling debt. The IMF’s move comes only four weeks after Argentina indicated it would be unable to pay its global debt, much of which is pegged to the US dollar, as its currency continues to inflate. This year alone, the peso is down over 25 percent compared to the dollar, the Wall Street Journal reported. With the new injection of cash, Argentina will be able to hasten the rate at which it pays back its debt, a result of high domestic expenditures that outpace revenues, and greater net imports than exports. The deal is a big bet for embattled President Mauricio Macri, who is trying desperately to pull his country back from the brink amid a flurry of simultaneous crises. But even high inflation, a drought that’s decreased crop yield by one-third this year, and a politically and economically sick Brazil, Argentina’s largest trading partner, haven’t bottomed out Macri’s poll numbers ahead of next years elections, the Financial Times reported.