Economy Argentina's Milei Devalues Peso by 54% in First Batch of Shock Measures - Bloomberg

[Flamingo]

I don't think that's how it works. They used to receive subsidies, but now that the subsidies have stopped, they won't be able to procure the necessary products to replace the product they previously sold at a lower cost. Unless a business is on the brink of closure, they won't part with their inventory for a price lower than what it would take to restock.

Realistically over time ALL these companies will go out of business and have to be replaced by someone or another company that is more efficient that can recapture costs to save money somewhere else. Most companies have tons of employees that do nothing and a waste in costs within the company. Lots of go betweens.

 

[Finance Prof]

Realistically over time ALL these companies will go out of business and have to be replaced by someone or another company that is more efficient that can recapture costs to save money somewhere else. Most companies have tons of employees that do nothing and a waste in costs within the company. Lots of go betweens.

Okay, so, why isn't Supply/Demand a thing here? Merchants are acting like they can hike up prices forever, and everyone will still be cool with it. And seriously, where's the competition? It's like it doesn't even exist!

 

[StatusNomadicus]

potential future scenario, Argentina experiences a significant boost in exports over the next year, driven by reduced restrictions

especially if Milei deletes the unconstitutional tariffs/import fees that we as consumers pay in Argentina: https://x.com/BowTiedMara/status/1698354685910905324?s=20

(if you aren't following BowTiedMara on twitter/X, you're missing out)

related to the meat question earlier: https://x.com/BowTiedMara/status/1735665638083805681?s=20

 

[StatusNomadicus]

Is it worth returning?

like others have said, by what metrics? for people in the USA Midwest, right now it's warm instead of snowing!

for others in Vancouver or New York City, the cost of living is 25% of the cost in a big USA city, possibly even less, and much lower crime/violence than Phoenix, Seattle, Portland, Tampa, Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, etc.

Pet store $11.35 / 10900 Pesos = 960.35
Health food store#1 $2.59 / 2450 Pesos = 945.95 (this was a Visa charge, all others here are MasterCard)
Health food store#2 $3.66 / 3460 Pesos = 945.36
Cafe#1 $3.43 / 3300 Pesos = 962.10
Gym $5.83 / 5600 Pesos = 960.55
Groceries $13.98 / 13428.60 Pesos = 960.56
Resto-Bar $16.29 / 15400 Pesos = 945.37

so credit card effective rate of 945-963 Pesos/Dollar as of 14Dec2023

(not sure why 3 were lower, since 1 was around 9pm, when all other charges were earlier in the day, including the 2 other 945 rates that were around 2pm...weird. the receipts don't look different, but perhaps it was a different bank/processor? the MercadoPago receipts all seem to give the better rate)

 

[Che Vos]

especially if Milei deletes the unconstitutional tariffs/import fees that we as consumers pay in Argentina: https://x.com/BowTiedMara/status/1698354685910905324?s=20

(if you aren't following BowTiedMara on twitter/X, you're missing out)

related to the meat question earlier: https://x.com/BowTiedMara/status/1735665638083805681?s=20

Yes, I agree with you @StatusNomadicus . I also follow Bowtied.

 

[Che Vos]

like others have said, by what metrics? for people in the USA Midwest, right now it's warm instead of snowing!

for others in Vancouver or New York City, the cost of living is 25% of the cost in a big USA city, possibly even less, and much lower crime/violence than Phoenix, Seattle, Portland, Tampa, Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, etc.

Pet store $11.35 / 10900 Pesos = 960.35
Health food store#1 $2.59 / 2450 Pesos = 945.95 (this was a Visa charge, all others here are MasterCard)
Health food store#2 $3.66 / 3460 Pesos = 945.36
Cafe#1 $3.43 / 3300 Pesos = 962.10
Gym $5.83 / 5600 Pesos = 960.55
Groceries $13.98 / 13428.60 Pesos = 960.56
Resto-Bar $16.29 / 15400 Pesos = 945.37

so credit card effective rate of 945-963 Pesos/Dollar as of 14Dec2023

(not sure why 3 were lower, since 1 was around 9pm, when all other charges were earlier in the day, including the 2 other 945 rates that were around 2pm...weird. the receipts don't look different, but perhaps it was a different bank/processor? the MercadoPago receipts all seem to give the better rate)

Thank you for posting about this. My mother and father have credit cards from Spain. They mostly use cash but at the end of the year with many expenses they are using their foreign credit card from Spain. My mom was asking what the rates were so thank you for sharing it.

 

[VINO]

Yes, I agree with you @StatusNomadicus . I also follow Bowtied.

Great blog! I just read a few articles and he has a lot of really informative stuff. Thanks for posting the URL.

 

[Spend Thrift]

like others have said, by what metrics? for people in the USA Midwest, right now it's warm instead of snowing!

for others in Vancouver or New York City, the cost of living is 25% of the cost in a big USA city, possibly even less, and much lower crime/violence than Phoenix, Seattle, Portland, Tampa, Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, etc.

Pet store $11.35 / 10900 Pesos = 960.35
Health food store#1 $2.59 / 2450 Pesos = 945.95 (this was a Visa charge, all others here are MasterCard)
Health food store#2 $3.66 / 3460 Pesos = 945.36
Cafe#1 $3.43 / 3300 Pesos = 962.10
Gym $5.83 / 5600 Pesos = 960.55
Groceries $13.98 / 13428.60 Pesos = 960.56
Resto-Bar $16.29 / 15400 Pesos = 945.37

so credit card effective rate of 945-963 Pesos/Dollar as of 14Dec2023

(not sure why 3 were lower, since 1 was around 9pm, when all other charges were earlier in the day, including the 2 other 945 rates that were around 2pm...weird. the receipts don't look different, but perhaps it was a different bank/processor? the MercadoPago receipts all seem to give the better rate)

This also matches my spending on my credit card the past few days. I think the rate is fabulous! It is difficult to get a true sense of inflation as everything seems like a fabulous deal to me. I am not paying too close attention and not buying the same exact things every day so I don't have a good sense but it sounds like other people are.

I'm not sure how expats can complain yet of the increases. This all is MUCH cheaper than I was paying in Seattle.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

This all is MUCH cheaper than I was paying in Seattle.

not just Seattle, but almost all of the USA. and sh*t isn't cheap in Europe i'm sure, either, though i haven't been in 5 years (no COVID passport/shot)

South Dakota rural towns had motels for $100 USD a night in October (albeit it was pheasant-hunting season). those are supposed to be like $40.

Arizona had gas for $4.60 USD a gallon for a while in a lot of places, and California was like 7, and Oregon was 6-something.

Tampa, Florida had $4.65 USD gallons of milk. i used to pay $1.99 for a regular gallon of whole milk before COVID.

Property taxes in the 2000-sqft house i sold were 2,400 USD per year. i won't even talk about what my friends in New Hampshire and Texas are paying. or you, in Seattle!

Sales tax is at 10% gross for a lot of places. Car registration in much of the USA is value-based, so a 40K vehicle would pay $600 USD for a year of registration the first year. then when selling in some states, the buyer of the used vehicle pays 7.8% excise tax in CA, 5.6% sales tax on new vehicles in AZ, and 4% excise tax for all vehicles in SD doing a title transfer. that's 1,600 - 3,500 for a regular SUV or nicer car. i sold my 3-year-old 4Runner for the same amount i bought it for, with 35,000 miles. there really wasn't any good reason for me to stay in the States (my salary wasn't doubling, but the cost of living did). https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1718297045088211152?s=20

 

[Jeb Spencer]

not just Seattle, but almost all of the USA. and sh*t isn't cheap in Europe i'm sure, either, though i haven't been in 5 years (no COVID passport/shot)

South Dakota rural towns had motels for $100 USD a night in October (albeit it was pheasant-hunting season). those are supposed to be like $40.

Arizona had gas for $4.60 USD a gallon for a while in a lot of places, and California was like 7, and Oregon was 6-something.

Tampa, Florida had $4.65 USD gallons of milk. i used to pay $1.99 for a regular gallon of whole milk before COVID.

Property taxes in the 2000-sqft house i sold were 2,400 USD per year. i won't even talk about what my friends in New Hampshire and Texas are paying. or you, in Seattle!

Sales tax is at 10% gross for a lot of places. Car registration in much of the USA is value-based, so a 40K vehicle would pay $600 USD for a year of registration the first year. then when selling in some states, the buyer of the used vehicle pays 7.8% excise tax in CA, 5.6% sales tax on new vehicles in AZ, and 4% excise tax for all vehicles in SD doing a title transfer. that's 1,600 - 3,500 for a regular SUV or nicer car. i sold my 3-year-old 4Runner for the same amount i bought it for, with 35,000 miles. there really wasn't any good reason for me to stay in the States (my salary wasn't doubling, but the cost of living did). https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1718297045088211152?s=20

^^THIS^^

Not just West Coast but it is especially felt on the West Coast. We escaped NYC during COVID-19 and traveled around the United States as NYC was a ghost town. Before the US Govt made COVID sound worse than it is and we were scared. We couldn't believe how nice certain areas were. We often visited for a few days in any given city but we spent months traveling as I could work remote with my job.

I don't know how they do it in California. I looked at some listings on Zillow and the median income isn't too high in many cities but many nothing special houses were almost $1.5 million. Really nice houses were $2 to $3 million. Gas prices hit $7 a gallon as you mentioned @StatusNomadicus. It was a fortune just filling up the gas tank and driving around.

Dining out was shockingly expensive! Not just in California but many other parts of the country we visited. I am seeing some receipts posted on this forum and it's shockingly cheap for so many people including wine!

My sister owns a home in Dallas and granted she lives in an affluent community but her property tax bill is almost 2.7% of the value of her home! She pays $30,000 a year in annual property taxes! She is quick to point out there is no state income tax which is nice but I told her they get you some how!

Everyone on the forum after the election is talking about inflation, inflation but wasn't this same inflation going on the past few years? I am seeing the exchange rate this summer was as low as 500 pesos to $1 USD. Now it's almost 1,000 pesos to $1USD. So were you all complaining about the inflation before? Forgive me as I'm a newbie but I'm just trying to understand all of this. This inflation isn't anything new? It seems like it's an ongoing problem.

 

[Daniela]

yes prices are very expensive in usa. I went a few weeks ago and couldn't believe it. People aren't exaggerating.

The blue dollar will go up after the holidays. It seems impossible the blue dollar won't go up.

 

[Tommy]

yes prices are very expensive in usa. I went a few weeks ago and couldn't believe it. People aren't exaggerating.

The blue dollar will go up after the holidays. It seems impossible the blue dollar won't go up.

I also believe the blue dollar will go up but prices ARE increasing on many items. Not to say this wouldn't have happened with Massa but it IS happening.

Javier Milei’s first week in power: Skyrocketing prices, threats of repression and calm in the financial markets

The transformation promised by the newly-elected far-right Argentine president begins with a devaluation of the currency, as well as the implementation of a new protocol that enables the stronger use of force to quell protests

english.elpais.com

 

[StatusNomadicus]

within six months, the cost of meat could potentially increase by at least two times when denominated in US dollars.

can't wait for this idiotic prediction, based on nothing, to be proved very wrong. we need a @RemindMeBot for this forum like Reddit has! @perroc do you pull other things out of your ass, or just these economic scare-tactics?

the rate remains at 945.

if you aren't following my twitter/X, check it out! daily credit card updates on the MEP. www.x.com/ArgentinaMEP

prices ARE increasing on many items

well, prices in Pesos have been going up for years. remember March 2023 the rate was in the 300s, and by December it was over 1,000. so yes, obviously Peso prices are still going up, and inflation was declared by Milei's cabinet to be 1% DAILY when they took office. but relative costs in USD don't seem to be doing much. i just bought an Onion and it was 25 cents or something. grill steak from Jumbo was $2.50 USD/pound equivalent and it was super nice! try finding that anywhere else in the world.