"the U.S. can take at least one important lesson from Argentina's recovery, which is to draw a firm line in the sand in its dealings with banks"

A very interesting interview with Roberto Lavagna about the global financial crisis, Argentina's financial history, the US and the UK.

Roberto Lavagna was the Argentine economic minister 2002 to 2005.

In order to reduce its debt level, Argentina got 76% of its foreign creditors to accept 35 cents on the dollar for its obligations. As a result, he says Argentina is now exiled from the international capital markets -- a status that, ironically, has protected it somewhat from the global crisis. Nonetheless, Argentina is now fighting rising inflation and has seen two million people, roughly 5% of the population, drop below the poverty level in the last two years.

The Street