Zeev's Turnips Patch-No Politics (ZEEV)

[Train Guy]

11:43am 11/14/02

Argentina may default on World Bank debt-reports By Allen Wan
Argentina may default on some $800 million in debt it owes to the World Bank in a move that could cut off one of its last major sources of external financing, media reports said Thursday. TodoNoticias reported that the the region's second-largest economy has already defaulted, while Reuters said that Argentina is trying to pay only the $80 million interest on that debt, citing a government source. A World Bank spokeswoman said that meetings between IMF/World Bank officials and Argentine government officials, including the country's economy and finance ministers, were currently taking place in Washington and that Argentina's finance minister would issue a statement at noon Eastern. The Merval stock market was down 1.3 percent.