Sovereign Debt

It Depends, Argentina Edition

07/30/14

The phrase "it depends" was invented 130 year ago by a small group of drunk lawyers from London and New York for the sole purpose of annoying first-year law students, nonlawyers, and people from civil law jurisdictions. Like all things annoying, "it depends" is enjoying a surge in popularity as tensions spike in the Argentine debt saga."It depends" is a magically useful phrase because it can cover up ignorance, describe uncertainty, or assign probabilities in a risky situation.

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A Stay Would Not Affect the Plaintiffs... Except by Eviscerating the Injunction

07/29/14

Unless the plaintiffs request a stay (and quick!), this will probably be the last request for Judge Griesa to stay the injunction before Argentina defaults officially fails to put money into the bank accounts of exchange bondholders.

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Whose Fault Is the Argentina Debacle?

07/29/14

I name names and point fingers in the Wall Street Journal.  NML gets some blame for overplaying its hand, but the fault primarily lies with the federal courts for letting the case go forward. I understand the courts being angered by an unrepentant debtor thumbing its nose at them, but the federal courts should know better than to get into a pissing match with a foreign sovereign. Federal judges are possessed of awesome powers, but not that awesome.

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The Incredible, Magical, Shrinking Injunction?

07/28/14

Judge Griesa has approved Citibank's request to transfer funds it received in payment of both dollar- and peso-denominated, Argentine-law bonds. Order attached.

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Guess the Date – Holdout Edition

07/28/14

The bill admits, that the whole amount divided among all the [creditors], was not enough to satisfy the complainant’s debt. What a singular proposition then to maintain, that although the whole were only entitled, in Law, to a less sum than this individual claims, out of the entire proceeds, yet that this and every other creditor of the same grade, by standing out and standing off, and pursuing his remedy separately, would realize the sum total of his claim!

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You Say Poignant, I Say Depressing

07/25/14

As Anna points out, there are indeed moments of poignancy in the pari passu litigation, largely having to do with the fact that, days from a major sovereign default induced in no small part by their rulings, the US courts only now seem to be discovering basic facts about the case.

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Pari Passu Poignancy

07/25/14

It is too easy to miss poignant moments in the news avalanche of Argentina debt litigation. Here is one from Judge Griesa's monologue at the July 22 hearing:

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Argentina: The RUFO Crazy

07/23/14

Kudos to Joseph Cotterill at FTAlphaville for an excellent post on the obsession with the Rights-Upon-Future-Offers (RUFO) clause in Argentina's restructured bonds, which seems to be driving Argentina to a payment default on those very bonds.

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A Sort of Special (Sovereign Debt) Language

06/30/14

I thought I'd write a quick follow-up to Anna's thorough post about the latest in the Argentine bond saga.

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Missed Payment Date Musings - Offshore Openings, Free Riding the Free Riders, and Argentina's "Uniqueness"

06/30/14

Extra! Extra!  Today is just another day in Argentina's bond saga. It may well come and go with no payments either to the NML plaintiffs or to the restructured bondholders.

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