Attorneys acting for the state of Argentina have filed papers to overturn a ruling that would oblige the country to reward American speculators who were hoping to make a killing trading in defaulted Argentine bonds.
The gist of the Argentinian argument is that a sovereign state is not obliged to abide by rulings handed down in another state.
Makes sense to me.
The spectacle unfolding before us is a crucial battle between the common good and private interests. What's different here is that we have a sovereign state arguing for the common good, and another sovereign state acting on behalf of the private interests.
Do American courts have the right to impose their remedies beyond the borders of America?
The Singer camp apparently believes so. It's Paul Singer's bond funds that have spear-headed this drive to impose American jurisprudence on the planet.
And why not? If they can pull this off, American lawyers will indeed be the masters of the universe!
Showing posts with label ARA Libertad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ARA Libertad. Show all posts
Monday, December 31, 2012
Sunday, December 16, 2012
One small victory for humanity over Vulture Fund douchebags
The UN Tribunal for Laws of the Sea has ordered that Ghana release the Argentine ship ARA Libertad.
The ship was seized in October pursuant to court actions brought by American Vulture Fund wheeler-dealer Paul Singer. Singer's funds bought Argentine sovereign debt at huge discounts around the time of Argentina's default ten years ago, and has been using the courts to try to force Argentina to repay their bonds at face value.
It's a great strategy when it works. Several years ago Singer's funds made an estimated 400% windfall profit pursuing the same strategy with discounted Peruvian bonds. That's a windfall Peru's impoverished campesinos continue to pay for.
The irony is that Argentina's legitimate creditors have long ago settled with the government. The Singer funds, which never lent Argentina any money but bought the distressed paper on the open market, now claim that the integrity of the global financial order is at risk if opportunistic paper-shufflers like themselves are not paid off in full.
Sounds to me like a great argument for a 100% tax on non-productive economic activity.
The ship was seized in October pursuant to court actions brought by American Vulture Fund wheeler-dealer Paul Singer. Singer's funds bought Argentine sovereign debt at huge discounts around the time of Argentina's default ten years ago, and has been using the courts to try to force Argentina to repay their bonds at face value.
It's a great strategy when it works. Several years ago Singer's funds made an estimated 400% windfall profit pursuing the same strategy with discounted Peruvian bonds. That's a windfall Peru's impoverished campesinos continue to pay for.
The irony is that Argentina's legitimate creditors have long ago settled with the government. The Singer funds, which never lent Argentina any money but bought the distressed paper on the open market, now claim that the integrity of the global financial order is at risk if opportunistic paper-shufflers like themselves are not paid off in full.
Sounds to me like a great argument for a 100% tax on non-productive economic activity.
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