Argentina’s Fernandez Denies Default Ruling as Bonds Sink

Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner denied the country defaulted on its debt in her first public comments since Standard & Poor’s said the nation had done just that for the second time in 13 years.

Fernandez said in a televised speech yesterday that while she’s open to further talks with hedge funds that successfully sued her government for $1.5 billion, she must defend the nation’s interests. Paying them could trigger additional claims and ruin Argentina, she said. While the country had posted a $539 million interest payment for bondholders prior to the July 30 deadline, a U.S. judge said it couldn’t be distributed because the hedge funds also had to be paid.