recession in Argentina

[argcalif2010]

Hello everybody,

Just wanted to pass on a tip I had from an important construction CEO (one of my students english). He believes that Argentina is in or very close to a recession, he let me know that last month his company let go 50 workers in Buenos Aires. The central office for this firm is in Mendoza. This situation will probably impact the poorer population, more so then the so called middle class. I lived through a terrible recession in 2001, and this one should be much less. The CEO advised me that his company will not make any construction bids or orders throughout the rest of 2012. He suggested only investing in dollars or land. I would be very carefull with any money deposited in banks or plazo fijos, eventhough the intrest rate may seem attractive. This may sound stupid but maybe the matress is the best place to put your money, if you do not have overseas accounts. Be carefull with big debts or spending.

 

[davonz]

I had read a couple of days ago that economist thought argentina was in recession. That exports had been dropping quickly, and that the auto industry had 40% drop in exports in april and may compared to a year ago, due mostly to brazilian demand - 70% if arg car production was going to brazil.

 

[YanquiGallego]

It's nice to get the inside scoop of those who are extremely in the know like your CEO friend, but quite frankly, you don't have to be the CEO of a company to sense that there is a recession brewing. Restaurants in Puerto Madero, Palermo, and Recoleta which used to be so ¨hot¨ you couldn't even get a table on weeknights, are now practically empty during the week and the restaurant owners are getting creative with ways to lure people in: Vouchers for a free bottle of Mumm champagne with dinner, 2 for the price of 1, kids eat free, etc.

Boutiques in Palermo and Recoleta which I have never even seen with sales are now marking down things up to 70% off (its still overpriced at THAT price), haggling is starting to become pretty accepted (Yes, in Argentina, LOL) in some businesses just because they want your business (I talked down a 130 peso dry cleaning bill at a 5A Sec to 80 pesos) one way or the other.

Heck, even the Four Seasons is offering ¨Facebook follower¨ discounts!

These are all subtle yet clear signs that the economy isn't doing well. I too have a friend who is the VP of a division of the bank for all of Latin America and he himself doesn't have funds in the bank that he is VP of. That says a lot.

 

[mulderfox]

construction was severely hit by the controls on the dollar. as apartments and houses are always sold in dollars. some "pozo" projects have copped adding inflation adjustment measures.

 

[tomdesigns]

I have a friend here.. had a business selling medical supplies to the provinces. About 4 months ago they stopped paying the bills.. He is out 2 mil US on those unpaid debts and had to lay off half his employees they are all suing now and he is going into bankruptcy the hard way.

Next qestion is.. where are the meds going to come from? Or better will there even be meds here in 6 months?

 

[simonmicheal]

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/En...int-to-creeping-recession/UPI-71631339106732/

 

[tomdesigns]

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/En...int-to-creeping-recession/UPI-71631339106732/

Spot on.. fasten your seatbelts.

Quote
The auto industry, Argentina's largest manufacturing sector, has been one of the worst hit areas. Vehicle production in May showed a year-on-year drop of 24.4 percent to 60,206 vehicles while exports plunged 45 percent to reach less than 29,000 units
Unquote

In the US those numbers are funeral bells.

 

[Davidglen77]

I live in the center of town and even here the restaurants, supermarkets and small shops are nowhere are busy as they were this time last year. There are also tons of stores that have closed, and are for rent. Just today I walked down calle Montevideo between Rivadavia & Mitre, there was a kiosko that I used to stop into, even that has closed it didn't even last a year. A small restaurant that I would buy empanadas from had a "fondo de comercio" for sale sign and the other shops look like they were selling but just the bare minimum. I really hope this doesn't last much longer. But who knows, this is Argentina!

 

[sleslie23]

I really hope this doesn't last much longer. But who knows, this is Argentina!

I'm afraid this is just the beginning.