The US Supreme Court has delivered a double blow to Argentina over its long-running battle with holders of the country’s defaulted bonds.
First, the court on Monday rejected Argentina’s appeal against an order to pay more than $1.3bn to hedge funds that hold some of the bonds.
Then, bondholders won the right to use US courts to force Argentina to reveal where it owns assets around the world.
The country’s main stock market tumbled more than 6% at the start of trading.
The court’s decision means that bondholders should find it easier to collect on their debts.
But President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner went on national television to say her country couldn’t afford to honour the ruling.
She said her government was willing to discuss the issue further, but added: “What I cannot do as president is submit the country to such extortion.”
However, Anna Gelpern, an expert in sovereign finance at the US-based Georgetown Law School. said: “This realistically is the end of the road for Argentina’s decade-long fight.”
The South American country defaulted in 2001 following its economic crisis, and has been in a legal battle with bondholders led by hedge funds NML and Aurelius Capital Management.
