Argentina's Milei pitches to Wall Street as investors reassess emerging markets

[Joe]

Adorni seems like he should stop doing interviews. He is not a good public speaker. Probably wouldn't be a big deal but he criticized the previous President about doing this sort of stuff.

Adorni’s travel scandal overshadows Milei’s investor push in New York

Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni in eye of storm; Official’s wife travelled on presidential aircraft to New York for Argentina Week roadshow; Fresh reporting about private-jet holiday intensifies scrutiny.

www.batimes.com.ar

 

[retiredbanker]

Argentina can thank their lucky stars for the USA. Honestly without Trump and Bessent's help before the mid-term election I am not sure that Milei would have made it. The backstop on the peso will only go so far. Trump's popularity is fading.

It remains to be seen how much new FDI will enter Argentina. USA is it's best friend right now.

Argentina Week 2026: Proof That Free Markets Deliver

U.S. Chamber CEO Suzanne Clark hails Argentina's free market reforms and economic turnaround at Argentina Week 2026.

www.uschamber.com

 

[Surfer]

Argentina can thank their lucky stars for the USA. Honestly without Trump and Bessent's help before the mid-term election I am not sure that Milei would have made it. The backstop on the peso will only go so far. Trump's popularity is fading.

It remains to be seen how much new FDI will enter Argentina. USA is it's best friend right now.

Argentina Week 2026: Proof That Free Markets Deliver

U.S. Chamber CEO Suzanne Clark hails Argentina's free market reforms and economic turnaround at Argentina Week 2026.

www.uschamber.com

Definitely Argentina would be in a dark place without the backstop by Trump. The peso was heading into the toilet before that help. I read some news about the investor week in NYC and it seems like it was a sh*t show. But I got this newsletter from the AS/COA which is a think tank from NYC.

It was a very positive newsletter. But it may just be because they were a sponsor of the event.

Argentina Week in New York, A Florida Summit, A Colombian Vote

 

[Finance Prof]

Definitely Argentina would be in a dark place without the backstop by Trump. The peso was heading into the toilet before that help. I read some news about the investor week in NYC and it seems like it was a sh*t show. But I got this newsletter from the AS/COA which is a think tank from NYC.

It was a very positive newsletter. But it may just be because they were a sponsor of the event.

Argentina Week in New York, A Florida Summit, A Colombian Vote

Well they sponsored the event! Of course she is going to speak nicely. But you are missing the point. This is the part you should focus on. Everyone wants all of Argentina's assets. Oil and critical minerals and agriculture.

"Argentina has long been described as a country with extraordinary assets—energy, agriculture, world-class entrepreneurs, strong human capital, and many of the critical minerals the United States and the world increasingly need. For years that potential felt just out of reach. Today, there is a growing sense that Argentina has a real opportunity to begin unlocking it."

 

[ghost]

Agree on bad timing. I don't think people realize how bad it could get if they don't get the oil flowing. Worldwide recession like we haven't seen. I was laughing the other day one of Milei's shills on X tried to argue that a War would be good for Argentina. 🤣 Some people are very out of touch with reality.

Yes this war goes on for a while and it will cause a world of hurt for many countries but especially Argentina. Trump won't be so popular and everyone will question his decisions especially when it comes to giving $$$. It won't be popular to give Argentina more billions in swap if we are sunk with bi

Well they sponsored the event! Of course she is going to speak nicely. But you are missing the point. This is the part you should focus on. Everyone wants all of Argentina's assets. Oil and critical minerals and agriculture.

"Argentina has long been described as a country with extraordinary assets—energy, agriculture, world-class entrepreneurs, strong human capital, and many of the critical minerals the United States and the world increasingly need. For years that potential felt just out of reach. Today, there is a growing sense that Argentina has a real opportunity to begin unlocking it."

Agree this woman is biased. I just don't believe Milei will be effective long term. Some of the changes are good like structural employment law improvements but he won't touch tax reform which is the main thing that is needed. Talk to anyone that runs a business in Argentina and they will tell you #1 problem is taxes.

One thing that can help bring about lasting, broad-based economic reform is tax reform. One thing that Milei won't do is implement progressive tax reforms,such as increasing income taxes and introducing wealth or net worth taxes to reduce extreme wealth concentration. Nor will Milei do anything to truly reduce tax loopholes (reduce corporate tax loopholes). Nor will he do anything about the VAT evasion rate, the offshore evasion rate, high value fraud, and high tax complexity (a significant driver of the black "informal" market). He has no interest in a tax regime that does not reduce tax inequality, but an alarming level of interest in a tax regime that does.

The most daring thing any Argentine government could ever do is get very serious about tax reform (including tax evasion across all socioeconomic levels). To me, real, hard, tax reform that flies in the face of culturally-accepted norms and tries to fight and change this type of corruption is probably the single-most important thing to do if you are looking to set the stage for long-term, broad-based economic reform.

It is not surprising that Argentina ranks #102 (out of 181 countries) on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). Meanwhile, Uruguay is #16 and Chile is #31. Why do you supposed. And now they are doing continual tax amnesties. You can't fix Argentina without fixing taxes.

 

[ghost]

Definitely Argentina would be in a dark place without the backstop by Trump. The peso was heading into the toilet before that help. I read some news about the investor week in NYC and it seems like it was a sh*t show. But I got this newsletter from the AS/COA which is a think tank from NYC.

It was a very positive newsletter. But it may just be because they were a sponsor of the event.

Argentina Week in New York, A Florida Summit, A Colombian Vote

Talk about biased. They sponsored the event. My brother works on Wall Street and was at that event. He said they wouldn't even let the Governors in some of the talks and this article says that there was so much participation. During Milei's speech the Governors missed much of it. He told me there was a big ruckus because some of them were angry they wouldn't be let in. I'm sure there is a video out there if you look online.

 

[import export]

The problem is there is no cash to spend by many. The economy is not crashing, but it is not growing either. Milei is sticking too strictly to his economic theories. Right now, the recovery is incredibly weak. The government shouldn't be afraid to print a little bit of money so that regular people actually have cash in their pockets. To get back to normal, workers need a 30% raise just to afford what they used to before Milei.

If President Milei can fix the current mix of high prices and a stuck economy, he will easily win reelection. Even if he fails, he currently has no strong political rivals to challenge him. While having no competition is great for Milei, it is actually a bad thing for the country's democracy.

The good news is the government is finally spending less money than it makes (a fiscal surplus), and the country is selling more goods to the world than it is buying. The Vaca Muerta oil and gas fields are doing a great job bringing much-needed US dollars into the country to help stabilize the economy.

Inflation is going to take a while to fix. Milei isn't doing himself any favors telling people inflation will be 0% That isn't a reality in Argentina. Because consumer spending makes up 75% of the entire economy, growth is impossible until people have cash and access to affordable bank loans. Inflation will stay high for a while because many prices are still catching up to reality. Milei’s administration is a transition government. His job is just to fix the broken foundation so the next phase can succeed, much like neighboring countries (Chile, Uruguay, Peru) have done.

When Milei took office, the official exchange rate was 800 pesos per dollar. Adjusted for all the inflation since then, that would be like the dollar costing 2,000 pesos today. I dont' think you need a huge devaluation but I think the economy would be much healthier and safer if the dollar was priced around 1700 pesos to $1 USD which is closer to the historical average.

The Central Bank needs to build up its savings by buying more dollars, and it should print pesos to do it. This specific type of money printing would not ruin the government's balanced budget. Milei's economic team is too scared of him (Kind of like the people around Trump) to suggest this, but they need to be brave and flexible. Right now, citizens aren't shopping and businesses aren't investing, so the government needs to try a different approach to get things moving.