EL UNIVERSAL

The Argentinean press continued highlighting the dramatic collapse last week of the Argentinean debt bonds. Daily newspaper Clarín headline read "Chávez maneuver with Argentinean bonds sank the market," referring to the operations in Venezuela involving such titles.

The Argentine section of JP Morgan's Emerging Market Bond Index Plus (EMBI+), a key indicator of investor's aversion to risk, plunged significantly. Argentina's spreads widened more than 43 basis points to 727 basis points whereas total yield fell 4.86 percent, Reuters reported.

On Friday, Argentina confirmed the sale of USD 1.46 billion in dollar-denominated Boden 2015 bonds. Venezuela paid USD 1 billion in cash, with an interest rate of 15 percent.

"The Chávez Administration resold the Argentine bonds to Venezuelan banks, which dumped the paper on the international market, at any price. Selling the bonds was the way to realize profits from exchange gains the Venezuelan government offers to the players in this operation," Clarín said.

"Traders wonder what the sense of the operations is, if the buyer does nothing but clouding the market," the Argentinean newspaper added.

Translated by Gerardo Cárdenas