Argentine President Cristina Kirchner can’t seem to make up her mind.
One day after lawyers for the embattled country told a federal judge the Kirchner administration was ready to fly to the US and negotiate with holdout bondholders, a high-ranking Buenos Aires official on Thursday backtracked — saying there are no such plans.
No wonder Paul Singer, whose Elliott Management hedge fund has claims of about $3 billion against the country, is continuing to look for Argentina cash wherever he can find it.
Chatter about possible peace talks to end the 11-year battle between the holdouts, led by Singer, and Argentina started after the US Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear Kirchner’s last appeal.
US courts have steadfastly maintained that Kirchner must pay the holdouts every cent they are owed.
Talk of likely settlement talks buoyed bond prices and Argentine stock markets on Wednesday.
But on Thursday, amid news that neither Argentina nor its lawyers contacted Singer about possible negotiations, the markets and bonds gave up much of their earlier advance.
Kirchner has called Singer and the other holdouts “vultures” — and there is a fear the country doesn’t have the money to pay them.
But Elliott’s Jay Newman, the architect of its sovereign debt holdout strategy, made an offer to negotiate with Argentina earlier this year that included new bonds so Argentina could preserve some cash.
Meanwhile, a separate Supreme Court decision Monday allowed Elliott to continue its global treasure hunt.
“My bottom line is that they are going to settle, but they are playing chicken to gain some leverage they don’t have,” said Anna Gelpern, a sovereign debt expert who has followed the 11-year saga.