Argentina Cautiously Watches US Debt Crisis

July 27, 2011 from Al Jazeera English

The ongoing debt crisis in the US is a painful reminder of Argentina's past when in 2001 the Latin American country defaulted on its debts. For years, it was the US and developed nations who closely watched as Latin American economies struggled with their debt crises, and in many cases lectured them on what they should do about it. But now it is the other way around, as this region is enjoying years of economic prosperity. Economists in Argentina say a potential US default could spark a domino effect in the Americas and they think governments in Latin American countries should be ready. Al Jazeera's Teresa Bo reports from the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires.

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US debt ceiling

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Default

In finance, default occurs when a debtor has not met his or her legal obligations according to the debt contract, e.g. has not made a scheduled payment, or has violated a loan covenant of the debt contract. A default is the failure to pay back a loan. Default may occur if the ... Explore this topic

2011 US debt ceiling crisis

The United States debt-ceiling crisis was a stage in the ongoing political debate in the United States Congress about the appropriate level of government spending and its consequential impact on the national debt and debt ceiling. The crisis was resolved with a complex deal th... Explore this topic

Latin American debt crisis

The Latin American debt crisis was a financial crisis that originated in the early 1980s, often known as the "lost decade", when Latin American countries reached a point where their foreign debt exceeded their earning power and they were not able to repay it. Explore this topic

US debt

The United States public debt is the outstanding amount owed by the federal government of the United States from the issue of securities by the Treasury and other federal government agencies. US public debt consists of two components: ⁕Debt held by the public includes Treasury... Explore this topic

Debt

A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value. A debt is... Explore this topic

Argentina

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is the second largest country in both South America and the Latin America region. The country is a federation of 23 provinces and the autonomous city of Buenos Aires, its capital and largest city. It is the eighth-largest country i... Explore this topic

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km², almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area.... Explore this topic

Buenos Aires

Буенос Айрес е столицата и най-големият град на Аржентина, както и вторият по големина град в Южна Америка след Сао Пауло. Той е важен културен, административен, икономически и туристически център. Поправката към конституцията от 1994 година дава на града автономия. Разположен... Explore this topic

United States

The United States of America, commonly called the United States and America, is a federal republic consisting of fifty states and a federal district. The 48 contiguous states and the federal district of Washington, D.C. are in central North America between Canada and Mexico. T... Explore this topic

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US debt ceiling

Default

Latin American debt crisis

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