Deus Ex Machina. But why the heck would the banks want to bail out Argentina? And at what price?

Bond markets are abuzz about Argentina’s deal with the Paris Club of creditors on US$9.7 billion of arrears from the 2001 financial crisis. Economy minister Kicillof emerged, in his mind and that of many, victorious. Brilliant diplomatic showmanship.

By Bianca Fernet: “Head in hands” photos or “plunging value” graphs that are traditionally displayed when markets fall were selected to accompany news that Argentine warrants tied to GDP crashed when the government revised 2013 GDP growth down to 3%.

By Bianca Fernet, Argentina, The Bubble: In 2012, Argentina introduced a 15% tax on credit card purchases made in foreign currency. Which turned into 20%. And now, after promising not to raise it again, the government raised it to 35% and closed the last legal window to acquire dollars at the official rate.

By Bianca Fernet, Argentina, The Bubble: The black/blue/unofficial ARS/USD rate hit 10/1 again. The Federal Police, the Prefecture, the Border Patrol, and representatives of the Central Bank are stomping around downtown, shutting down currency exchanges and being as obvious as possible. And now a gag order on the exchange rate!