February 7, 2006
WHO NEEDS MONETARY POLICY?
Argentina's leader negotiates price freeze (Eliana Raszewski, Bloomberg News, 02/07/2006)
Argentine President Nestor Kirchner is summoning executives from companies including Procter & Gamble Co., Unilever and Kimberly-Clark Corp. to his office to deliver a message: Stop raising prices.At meetings around a rectangular wooden table at the presidential palace in the past two weeks, Kirchner and Economy Minister Felisa Miceli negotiated agreements that require the companies to freeze prices for as long as a year, to help the government's fight against inflation.
Kirchner's efforts are unlikely to be successful, said Pablo Morra, an economist at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York.
I don't know. Maybe if they passed around a few "Whip Inflation Now" buttons, they'd have a better shot?
Posted by kevin_whited at February 7, 2006 8:53 AMIt wasn't pretty when Nixon tried it and I doubt it'll be pretty now. They better hope Kirchner's efforts won't be successful, or Argentina will have even more to cry about.
Posted by: erp at February 7, 2006 9:02 AM"Scenes We'd Like to See", like from the old Mad Magazine:
Prez: Stop raising prices!
Exec: Stop printing money!
Kirchner's problem is that he has burned all of his bridges abroad. He has to solve this one himself.
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at February 7, 2006 4:11 PM