Fitch Ratings on Monday cut Argentina’s foreign currency sovereign credit rating to restricted default after the government announced a plan to postpone payments on $9.8 billion worth of local-law, US dollar-denominated bonds until December 31, 2020, at the latest. The credit rating firm said the decision made on April 5 constituted a distressed debt exchange and by its criteria the third largest economy in Latin America was considered in default on its sovereign obligations. “Fitch has...

S&P Global downgraded its sovereign foreign currency credit rating for Argentina on Tuesday to selective default, citing the government's decision to postpone payments on $9.8 billion worth of local-law, US dollar-denominated bonds until December 31, 2020, at the latest. Buenos Aires' decision to postpone the payments occurred just prior to the government's decision to extend a lockdown order in the hope of mitigating the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. "The COVID-19 crisis has...

Island nation's fiscal and external accounts are expected to deteriorate severely, rating agency says Editor's note: LatinFinance's Daily Brief newsletter is making some of its most important coronavirus-related material freely available to all readers. Visit our coronavirus section for all our coverage and sign up to receive the Daily Brief email in your inbox every morning. Fitch Ratings on Wednesday lowered its long-term foreign currency credit rating for Aruba to BB from BBB-, putting it...

Global economy to shrink 3% during the "Great Lockdown" of 2020, according to the multilateral lender Editor's note: LatinFinance's Daily Brief newsletter is making some of its most important coronavirus-related material freely available to all readers. Visit our coronavirus section for all our coverage and sign up to receive the Daily Brief email in your inbox every morning. The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) regional economy will be among the hardest hit by coronavirus pandemic that is...

Mexico a step away from junk; already fragile business climate seen hampering recovery from pandemic Fitch Ratings late on Wednesday cut Mexico's long-term sovereign foreign currency credit rating one notch to BBB-, just a step above junk status, saying the coronavirus pandemic will likely spur a severe recession that an already fraught business environment will be unable to recover from quickly. "A recovery starting in 2H20 will likely be held back by the same factors that have hampered...