After defaulting on some of its restructured debt on July 30, Argentina has petitioned the International Court of Justice to hear a lawsuit against the U.S. According to the Wall Street Journal, the South American nation claims that decisions by the U.S. courts in the legal battle between Argentina and some of its creditors have violated its sovereignty, but FSG’s senior analyst for Latin America research says it’s merely a stalling tactic.
“Argentina’s lawsuit against the U.S. is a stalling tactic intended to bolster the Argentine government’s political rhetoric. Most likely, its main result will be a further delay in negotiations with holdout creditors,” says Gabriela Mallory.
On Tuesday, South African publication The Daily Maverick asserted that “corrupt, incompetent governments and their repeated failure to protect their citizens” was more to blame for the Ebola outbreak than the disease itself. FSG’s Sub-Saharan Africa analyst Alexa Lion agrees, adding that the virus will have little affect on Western businesses involved in the region.
“Ebola is scary but is fairly isolated from Western economic interests. Its spread speaks more of government inability to contain the virus rather than high risk of contagion. MNCs must be vigilant and articulate health precautions to their partners, but also remain aware that it is business as usual in West Africa’s largest hubs,” she says.
In Indonesia, members of losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subainto’s political coalition are planning to form a special committee, or pansus, in the House of Representatives, claiming electoral fraud. Despite Prabowo’s large presence in the legislature, FSG’s Adam Jarcysk says it is unlikely the court will rule in his favor.
“The Prabowo camp’s decision to begin saber-rattling now about launching a pansus in October suggests that the Constitutional Court is likely to support Jokowi in its ruling later this month,” says Adam Jarczyk, FSG’s Asia Pacific Practice Leader.
FSG clients can stay up to date with analyst commentary on the latest emerging markets headlines on the client portal. Not a client? Contact us for more information.
Speak Your Mind