Becoming the world's first stockmarket to fall victim to
globalization might not seem like much of an honour. But Argentina
may find in years to come that the rapid decline of its bolsa
proved a blessing in disguise. Now is the time for the government
to heed the sentiments of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical and shed
no tears for its dying stockmarket. It will do better to embrace
the new reality and plug the country into what finance secretary
Daniel Marx calls "the global pool of liquidity".
The Buenos Aires stockmarket is an antiquated institution with a
cumbersome management structure, high charges and an army of small
unprofitable brokers whose main aim in life is to block reforms.
They may prove successful in which case they are setting themselves
up to be a scapegoat for the exchange's demise. Irritating as the
small fry are and absurd as their situation is the blame for...
