Argentina still in a standoff with the vulture funds and the Nixon zombie judge

One of the Roberts Court's worst decisions, upholding by declining to hear the appeal of a ruling by Nixon-appointed zombie federal judge Thomas Griesa on Argentine debt obligations to vulture funds, is ticking toward a July 31 deadline imposed by the Nixon zombie judge's action that theoretically will force Argentina in default.

Argentine President Cristina Fernández is saying that Argentina won't declare a default if the issue with the vulture funds aren't settled by July 31. They are paying what is due on the renegotiated debt to the banks acting as the payment agents. The payments that aren't getting made are those being embargoed by the Nixon zombie judge's orders. (Nicolás Lantos, "Van a tener que inventar un nombre nuevo" Página/12 24.07.2014)

This discussion from The Real News is good on describing the situation and the radicalism of the Nixon zombie judge's ruling, US Courts Defend Rights of Vulture Funds Over Argentina 07/22/2014:

This video from the office of the Argentine President shows her explaining her stand against the vulture funds and the Nixon zombie judge, 23 de JUL. Cristina Fernández dialogó con la prensa a cerca de los fondos buitre Casa Rosada 23.07.2014:

This Buenos Aires Herald editorial also gives a brief description of the vulture fund standoff (Default by default 07/21/2014):

Yet that market confidence began to waver in midweek — no doubt in the face of the firmness of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s defiant speech to the BRICS summit. There her tone was not so much that Argentina would not pay as that Argentina had already paid (remitting the corresponding deposit to New York at the end of last month, which was immediately frozen by Manhattan judge Thomas Griesa) — she further argued that the existing 2005 and 2010 bond swaps favoured holdout creditors because even a starting 70 percent haircut would later permit them profits trebling the outlay on debt bought at junk bond levels of 10 percent. CFK also seemed to assume that there could be no default without one being declared by the government in question and she herself had no intention of taking such a step herself, ergo no chance of default. The substance of this speech hardly differed from her Flag Day declaration of a willingness to “pay 100 percent of bondholders,” a pledge prompting the market optimism until recently, but the change of tone has prompted uncertainty.

Tags: argentina, cristina fernández