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Pastimes : The Justa & Lars Honors Bob Brinker Investment Club -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Justa Werkenstiff who wrote (6741)	7/12/1999 4:51:00 PM
From: Allan Harris	Respond to of 15132

The street.com internet index Looks like about a 30% gain from the June lows. A

To: Justa Werkenstiff who wrote (6741)	7/12/1999 5:22:00 PM
From: Investor2	Respond to of 15132

FWIW, AMEX Internet Index quote.yahoo.com^iix&d=b Best wishes, I2

To: Justa Werkenstiff who wrote (6741)	7/13/1999 5:56:00 AM
From: Justa Werkenstiff	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 15132

Argentina : Menem, analysts say Argentina will pay debt By Jason Webb BUENOS AIRES, July 12 (Reuters) - Rumors of an Argentine debt default shook Latin American markets Monday, but President Carlos Menem and local economists all blamed the presidential candidate of the ruling Peronists for needlessly scaring investors. The Brazilian real slid, the Mexican peso slipped, and stocks from Santiago to the Rio Grande sagged on the rumors, as well as on political factors unnerving investors in Buenos Aires. Argentina's leading-share MerVal index <.MERV> slumped to close down 8.66 percent, largely due to concern that government power was leaking away ahead of the Oct. 24 election. Congress last week delayed collection of a vehicle tax after a three-day nationwide strike by truckers. Menem declared Argentina would pay every last cent of its debt and aimed a stinging rebuke at the man widely blamed for triggering the rumors -- the presidential candidate of his own Peronist Party, Eduardo Duhalde. "Argentina will honor its foreign and domestic debt, no matter whether some candidate asks for the opposite for his own spurious political interests," Menem said. Duhalde, who has slipped behind the candidate of the center-left opposition Alliance, Fernando de la Rua, in opinion polls, at the end of last month called for part of Argentina's foreign debt of more than $100 billion to be pardoned. "I don't understand the logic of why a presidential candidate starts talking about condoning the debt or more time to pay it or whatever, when he himself will need to go to the creditors if he wins the election. That's what you call suicide," said Economist Aldo Abram, of consultants EXANTE. He added that Argentina's debt profile was good, the proportion of short-term debt very manageable, and the size of the debt in relation to gross domestic product of about $300 billion reasonable. Economy Minister Roque Fernandez last week dismissed Duhalde's proposal as impossible. Fernandez pointed out that most of the debt is in the hands of a large number of bond holders, with whom it would be impossible to negotiate. Duhalde, who says he wants to talk about his proposal with Pope John Paul II, supports most of Menem's tough economic policies, which are underpinned by the fixed exchange rate between the peso and the dollar. So does De la Rua. While financial market traders tear out their hair at Duhalde's declarations, most Argentines think requesting debt forgiveness is a good idea, according to an opinion poll. The idea did not gone down as well in neighboring Brazil, where its currency, the real, lost 2 percent and the Bovespa <.BVSP> index of leading shares lost 2.05 percent. Mexico's IPC stock index <.MXX> was 2 percent down in late trade. U.S. Treasury bonds rose on flight-to-quality buying following rumors of a possible Argentine downgrade. "Of course Argentina can pay its debt. This is an overreaction caused by the power vacuum ahead of the elections," said Martin Redrado of the Fundacion Capital consultancy, and a former head of Argentina's SEC equivalent. "The burden of short-term debt is very moderate. The government's policy of meeting financial needs ahead of time -- we have already met our needs until October -- reduces the risk of a default, and on top of that the contingency line provided by the International Monetary Fund means that the risk is very low," said Pedro Rabassa, economist at Scotiabank Quilmes. Economists agreed that while Argentina could meet its debt commitments, the present market panic will push up its financing costs and deepen this year's economic recession. Argentina has been battered by low prices for its main commodity exports, a shortage of emerging market finance, and a devaluation in January by its main trading partner, Brazil. Latin markets were rattled in May by fears Argentina would devalue to compensate for a loss of competitiveness compared to Brazil. The rumors were hotly denied and Argentina's trade balance has since returned to surplus. Argentina's 1999 financing needs total $17 billion, of which it only needs to raise another $3 billion. Argentina's foreign reserves, including bank liquidity requirements held in a New York bank account, total more than $33 billion, and are largely unchanged from 12 months ago. Argentina also has access to $2.8 billion under a three-year loan agreement with the IMF, and has so far chosen not to draw on the money. 18:02 07-12-99