US court gives Argentina new break on debt payment

A New York appeals court rejected a motion by hedge funds to force Argentina to make a security deposit as Buenos Aires seeks to overturn an order that it repay $1.3 billion to holders of defaulted bonds. Last week, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals granted Buenos Aires' request to put a hold on a November 21 lower court ruling that Argentina make good on bonds held by US hedge funds within weeks or fall in default on all its debt. Those funds then filed a motion seeking a security deposit that would show Argentina was acting in good faith, but on Tuesday, the court rejected that bid. "Appellees request that this Court amend its November 28, 2012 stay order by requiring the Republic of Argentina to post security on or before December 10, 2012. It is hereby ordered that the motion is denied," the court ruled. A hearing in the case has been set for February 27, 2013, again putting off a reckoning over Argentina's debt, which fell into arrears 11 years ago. Argentina defaulted on some $100 billion in debt in 2001, and has since restructured its debt twice. It insists it should not have to repay the $1.3 billion in bonds held by the hedge funds because they refused to take part in a 2005 restructuring agreed by most of the other bondholders. The November 21 ruling by New York lower court judge Thomas Griesa rejected Buenos Aires' position and ordered it to repay the $1.3 billion in full, before or in parallel with any other debt payments the country must make. With Buenos Aires scheduled to pay out $3 billion on previously restructured debt on December 15, Griesa's order -- if it had been upheld -- would have meant it also must pay the $1.3 billion by that time or fall into default on all of its debt.