LATIN AMERICA: The world's forgotten crisis

LATIN AMERICA: The world’s forgotten crisis

Elections have a nasty habit of destabilizing Latin America's fragile financial markets. The latest election-inspired jolt came in July when Eduardo Duhalde, Peronist party candidate for Argentina's presidency, suggested that the country might not need to pay back all its debts. The impact was felt throughout Latin America. Spreads on bonds widened, stock markets fell and currencies weakened. While some Latin issuers have taken advantage of brief windows of opportunity to sell bonds and equities this year, many are struggling to raise finance, while much of the region heads into economic downturn. Michael Peterson reports

Brazil: The banks party through the crisis

Duhalde was quick to make it clear that he did not intend Argentina to default on its debt obligations. But Brazil’s devaluation in January is still fresh in the minds of investors and after two years of wondering where the next emerging-markets shock will come from, the markets remain jittery. Unfortunately, elections loom in three of Latin America’s biggest economies, Argentina, Peru and Chile. Traditionally, in Latin America, elections mean three things: politicians make populist statements, governments loosen the purse strings and capital flees.

LATIN AMERICA: The world’s forgotten crisis

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LATIN AMERICA: The world’s forgotten crisis

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The world’s best private banks for digital

Rebuilding banks from the inside out in the digital age

Eastward bound: Why Gulf banks are tapping Asia’s capital markets

Islamic Finance Innovation 2025

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