The head of the IMF's Western Hemisphere division says:
Asked about Argentina, where according to independent indicators inflation reached a 26 percent annual rate last year, Werner said the country is going through “a difficult situation” following a $13 billion drop in its foreign reserves last year, and additional $2 billion drop in foreign reserves so far this year.
But Werner refused to speculate on whether there is a threat of hyper-inflation in Argentina. In light of the recent trends, it looks like “inflation clearly would rise, but it would be premature to put a number on it,” he said. ...
While Werner did not pronounce the word “hyper-inflation,” I came out with the impression that he sees a possibility that Venezuela’s inflation rates may run out of control, and a somewhat lesser chance of that happening in Argentina.
Argentina isn't Venezuela-level bad. But if that is your point of comparison, you're probably screwed already.
But no worries. The State Department says that you have to pass the ambassador to find out what he's made of:
"I don't have his personal biography in front of me, but what I will convey is that ... judging somebody's effectiveness, or what role they'll play, or how strong of an ambassador they'll be — you can't do [that] until they've spent some time working in the job in the country," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki replied when asked by ABC's Jon Karl if Noah Mamet, whose nomination to the crucial diplomatic post was considered by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, speaks Spanish.
In other words, you have to confirm the ambassador to Argentina to know what's in the ambassador to Argentina.
Curse that article author for stealing my punch line.
