Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. I think Chavez might be left holding the bag. Can't imagine who else bought these bonds?
Sidney, you got a couple under your mattress?
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Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. I think Chavez might be left holding the bag. Can't imagine who else bought these bonds?
Sidney, you got a couple under your mattress?
Anybody see the economic news on Brazil today?
April 30 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil received an investment grade credit rating for the first time from Standard & Poor's, sending the benchmark stock market index to a record and yields on dollar bonds to an all-time low.
"The investment grade rating rewards the country and their choice of economic policies,'' said Claudia Calich, who manages $1 billion in emerging-market debt for Invesco Inc. In New York. 'Lula's government took office with bonds trading at 40 cents on the dollar and the real at almost 4 and is now entering the big leagues of the investment grade world.''
. Isn't that somethin'! Brazil: Sound economic policies leading to a better economy! Argentina: Losteau, who the general consensus on was that he was competent, comes up with a plan and says if they don't follow it or something similar, the country's gonna have big problems, what happens? He's forced to resign.
Here's the article on Brazil. Any Americans thinking of going there, the real keeps climbing, 1.69 to a dollar, a long way from the 4.00 when Luila took office. You might want to avoid postponing your trip!
[url]http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aIiTs3Jyfo8s[/url]
Looks like there going to be less production in the Ag sector, because of what going on with the gov.
From Bloomberg.
[QUOTE] Reduced Planting.
Argentine farmers may plant between 5 percent and 10 percent less wheat this year, at a time when global prices have surged, Cameron said. Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade have doubled in the past two years, reaching a record in February.
Cabinet chief Fernandez said in a presentation to Congress April 30 that the government needs to determine Argentina's wheat surplus before opening the export registry.
Private groups estimate there is a surplus of 2 million tons of wheat in Argentina, while the government office for price controls on food goods, known as ONCCA, estimates there are 400,000 tons left, he said.
Meatpackers say the limits on beef exports are damaging the country's reputation in the global market, spurring clients in Russia and the European Union to switch to supplies from Uruguay.
'The government hasn't allowed us to export one kilo of beef in the last month,'' Miguel Gorelik, vice president of Quickfood SA, a Buenos Aires-based meatpacker, said in an interview. 'It's driving a lot of business to Uruguay.''
Quickfood is being acquired for $141 million by Brazil's Marfrig Frigorificos e Comercio de Alimentos SA in a deal announced Nov. 14.
Cutting Spending.
Government controls will encourage farmers to cut back on their annual spending for fuel, seeds, chemicals, fertilizer, farmland rents, machinery and labor, said Martin Fraguio, executive director of the Argentine corn-growers association known as Maizar. The reduction may limit or reduce output, he said.
'Every year here farmers plow $20 billion into their land,'' Fraguio said. 'That will perhaps be the biggest loss for Argentina.''
To contact the reporters on this story: Matthew Craze in Buenos Aires at [email]mcraze@bloomberg. Net[/email].[/QUOTE]Also from Bloomberg.
[QUOTE=Bloomberg]
Farmers still are withholding produce and delaying purchases of agricultural chemicals and machinery, Carlos Garetto, vice president of farm group Coninagro, said in an interview yesterday.
Argentina's wheat growers, who start planting a new crop in June, already may be holding back on planting more as they wait for the conflict to be resolved. Wheat exports by Argentina, the world's fourth-largest shipper of the grain, have been blocked by the government since November.
Sean Cameron, president of Aaprotrigo, the Argentine wheat- growers association, said farmers may grow alternative crops or hold off on planting while the strike continues.
'As a farmer, I don't know what the hell to do,'' said Cameron, who owns 2,000 hectares (4,942 acres) in southern Buenos Aires province, known as the Argentine wheat belt. 'The longer this stretches out, I will put off making decisions on what to plant.''
Reduced Planting.
Argentine farmers may plant between 5 percent and 10 percent less wheat this year, at a time when global prices have surged, Cameron said. Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade have doubled in the past two years, reaching a record in February.
Cabinet chief Fernandez said in a presentation to Congress April 30 that the government needs to determine Argentina's wheat surplus before opening the export registry.
Private groups estimate there is a surplus of 2 million tons of wheat in Argentina, while the government office for price controls on food goods, known as ONCCA, estimates there are 400,000 tons left, he said.
Meatpackers say the limits on beef exports are damaging the country's reputation in the global market, spurring clients in Russia and the European Union to switch to supplies from Uruguay.
'The government hasn't allowed us to export one kilo of beef in the last month,'' Miguel Gorelik, vice president of Quickfood SA, a Buenos Aires-based meatpacker, said in an interview. 'It's driving a lot of business to Uruguay.''
Quickfood is being acquired for $141 million by Brazil's Marfrig Frigorificos e Comercio de Alimentos SA in a deal announced Nov. 14.
Cutting Spending.
Government controls will encourage farmers to cut back on their annual spending for fuel, seeds, chemicals, fertilizer, farmland rents, machinery and labor, said Martin Fraguio, executive director of the Argentine corn-growers association known as Maizar. The reduction may limit or reduce output, he said.
'Every year here farmers plow $20 billion into their land,'' Fraguio said.
'That will perhaps be the biggest loss for Argentina.''
To contact the reporters on this story: Matthew Craze in Buenos Aires at [email]mcraze@bloomberg. Net[/email].
Last Updated: May 2, 2008 13:17 EDT.
.[/QUOTE]
Looks like if they're new protests, they will try to block exports, not food to the cities. The farmers do not want to harm the Argentine people just the gov. Let see what happen Tuesday with the talks.
From Bloomberg.
The new blockades will target only goods destined for export to avoid disrupting domestic food supplies and preserve public support, De Angeli said.
The blockade planned for Cordoba will halt trucks carrying crops to Rosario, on the Parana River, where more than two-thirds of the oilseed is exported from Argentina, Pautassi said.
[url]http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=a7nVuQdV1Jjs&refer=latin_america[/url]
Argentina Bonds, Stks Slide, Peso Softer As Farm Strike Looms.
Wed, May 7 2008, 20:32 GMT.
[url]http://www.djnewswires.com/eu[/url]
Argentina Bonds, Stks Slide, Peso Softer As Farm Strike Looms.
By Drew Benson.
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES.
BUENOS AIRES (Dow Jones)--Argentine bonds and stocks slid Wednesday as farm leaders said a renewed strike was "imminent" after the government took a controversial soy export tax off the negotiating table.
Meanwhile, the peso softened to ARS3.185 against the dollar in interbank trading from Tuesday's close at ARS3.1775.
Bond prices closely followed the tense farm negotiations during the day, sliding sharply in early trading after Cabinet chief Alberto Fernandez said Tuesday night that the government was not going to reconsider the export taxes that sparked disruptive farmer roadblocks in March.
Prices then leveled off, but plunged again after farm leader Eduardo Buzzi told reporters that a strike was "imminent" after meeting with government officials Wednesday.
Farm leaders plan to hold a news conference at 5 p. M. Local time (2000 GMT) to announce their next move.
Anticipating a return to protests, Goldman Sachs economist Pablo Morra said in a daily report that renewed farm protests "will likely increase social and political tension," adding that the resulting reduction in farm products would affect exports and tax revenues and could cause inflationary food shortages. "In all, if prolonged, the strike could have a meaningful negative impact on the economy," Morra added.
Hardest hit among local bonds was the benchmark Discount bond in pesos, the price of which ended 3.6% lower at ARS94, with a yield of 11.11%. The Discount in pesos had reached a low of ARS92 in midafternoon trading. The Bogar 2018, another peso note also linked to inflation, ended 2.4% lower at ARS126 with a yield of 13.71%.
Javier Salvucci, an analyst with local Silver Cloud Advisors, said bonds were also hurt by renewed talk about the government launching a new methodology for its monthly consumer price index reports.
Beleaguered government statistics agency INDEC held a seminar Wednesday to discuss its new CPI methodology plans. "But everything suggests that (reports using the new methodology) will continue to be far removed from reality," Salvucci said.
INDEC reported last month that the CPI rose 8.8% on the year in March, although economists estimated it to be around 25%. The government has apparently been downwardly manipulating inflation data since January 2007. The government denies it has been cooking the books, although officials have for months been promising to develop a new methodology. On Wednesday, INDEC chief Ana Maria Edwin said a new methodology is "imminent."
Economists say there was nothing wrong with the old methodology and that data will continue to be unreliable if the government continues to manipulates it. INDEC is slated to report April's CPI report Friday.
On the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, the benchmark Merval Index slid 1.55% to 2,093.99 points. Volumes were down on the day to ARS91.6 million, with ARS68.5 million of that in local shares.
Banks exposed to bonds took a hit, with Banco Macro (BMA) sliding 2.07% to ARS7.07, and Grupo Financiero Galicia (GGAL. BA) ending 3.01% lower at ARS1.93. Merval heavyweight Tenaris (TS) a maker of steel tubes used in the oil industry, slid 2.59% to ARS86.40.
In the local foreign exchange market, the central bank apparently stepped in to sell dollars during the final minutes of the day session, "but it wasn't a strong intervention," said Hector Blanco, a currency trader with local ABC Mercado de Cambio.
He said he expects the monetary authority to step up dollar selling early Thursday if the peso opens weaker.
-By Drew Benson, Dow Jones Newswires; 5411-4311-3127; [email]andrew. Benson@dowjones. Com[/email]
(END) Dow Jones Newswires.
May 07, 2008 16:32 ET (20:32 GMT)
Copyright 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
[url]http://www.theargentinepost.com/2008/05/storm-cloud-are-gathering.html[/url]
Exon
Just watching news on TV. The Farmers say they will not block roads, if the truckers agree not to take grains to the export terminals, for the next 8 days. After 8 days, they will decide if they want to continue the protest. Depends on progress with talk with gov. They will stop planting wheat, until they know what the gov. policy going to be on wheat.
This is from Reuters.
[QUOTE] Grains exporters are the main source of U. S. Dollars in Argentina's foreign exchange market and concerns that farmers could halt sales fueled dollar purchases.
"The market is dollar-hungry due to the farm issue," said one currency trader. "There's also a lack of dollar liquidity because farmers are only selling the bare minimum."
In formal interbank trade, the peso fell 0.24 percent to 3.1825/3.185 per dollar <ARS=RASL>. In informal trade between foreign exchange houses, as measured by Reuters, it weakened by 0.39 percent to 3.2425/3.245 per dollar <ARSB=.
As the farm talks deadlocked last week, farmers vowed to limit their sales and purchases of supplies and start roadside protests across the country, one of the world's top exporters of grains, oilseeds and beef. [/QUOTE]Whole article.
[url]http://in.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idINN0760370020080507[/url]
Cabinet Chief Alberto Fernandez, who led the government's talks with farm-group leaders, refused to continue the meetings yesterday after saying the threats to disrupt grain shipments amounted to 'extortion.'' Farmers in Cordoba and Entre Rios provinces gathered on highways and impeded access to trucks carrying corn and soybeans hours after his comments.
Pablo Moyano, the head of Argentina's truck drivers union, said his members won't let farmers selectively block the roads.
'Everyone passes or no one passes,'' Moyano told the state- run newswire Telam last night.
------------------------
Farmers will withhold their grain from the market during the strike, Argentine Rural Confederation President Mario Llambias said yesterday at a press conference in Buenos Aires.
'We are not going to sell grains for export,'' Llambias said. 'If the government doesn't address the heart of these issues, it's going to be harder to resolve the problems facing our country.''
Supplies to exporters fell 50 percent last month as farmers withheld their soybean and corn harvests on expectation of a change in the tax, Cesar Gagliardo, president of Buenos Aires grains brokerage Artegran SA, said in an interview yesterday.
'Farmers aren't selling grains under these authoritative measures, as this is almost confiscation,'' said Gagliardo, who sells crops to exporters such as Cargill Inc. And Bunge Ltd. 'The countryside is full of plastic silo bags, and farmers are using old silos or disused barns to store their harvests.''
From.
[url]http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aHK57TsdftOE&refer=latin_america[/url]
It never ends:
I know some folks don't like these kind of posts but here we go again; from Clarin today:
[url]http://www.clarin.com/diario/2008/05/09/laciudad/h-01667896.htm[/url]
Aumentan 22,5% los taxis en la Capital.
La suba quedó confirmada tras una audiencia pública. La bajada de bandera pasa de $ 3,10 a $ 3,80. Desde el año 2003 el alza de la tarifa alcanza a 171%.
El líder del sindicato gastronómico, Luis Barrionuevo, anunció ayer que acordó con los empresarios del sector un aumento salarial del 31 por ciento.
Taxis up again by 22%. Since 2003 up %171. The tourist, hotel union (possibly including restaurant workers, I looked at the unions webpage but couldn't figure it out) get up to a 31% raise. Guess what happens to their prices.
Farmers vs. Government - don't be surprised if there are a few bloody noses (or worse) this time around.
I cannot see the value of a trip here from the USA. About 1200 bucks for a flight plus 100-150 nightly for a hotel for one week. That's 2 grand just to get here. The guys I know who come here don't eat at a local deli so "decent" dinners at tourist spots or trendy Palermo spots (outside of L'Alliance which is holding prices as well as they can) are expensive. My take (feel free to disagree):
7 days cost in dollars (7 days in BA, not including travel days)
Travel 1200 (not including your costs to and from local airport in States, parking and money spent in airport at overpriced Burger Kings and Starbucks)
Hotel: 800 (I know, Jackson's place is only 75 nightly! And some short term apartment rentals are about the same)
Breakfast simple $6 daily - 40
Lunch specials 8$ daily - 60
Dinners $30 daily - 200
Transportation - black and yellow radio cabs.
EZE Airport to / from $40 (remis $60)
4 cab rides daily 12 x 7 = $85 - according to Clarin chart 17 blocks will be a little over 10 pesos. I do not think this includes waiting time.
Not including cabs to / from clubs.
Chicas: one privado daytime midlevel - 50 and one club nightly 70 (not including drinks for you and chicas or any 200 dollar a night Recoleta hookers!
That's about 450 daily for a week and I believe it is the low end of costs leaving out overpriced stuff you buy here, overpriced chicas, too much drinking, overtipping, etc. Your costs 600 - 700 bucks a day for a week here. I remember Exon talking about his trips during the 90's costing 5 grand because this was a very expensive city at the time. We are closing in on that.
Where is the bargain? If you live here - utilities, public transportation and taxes are low. Medical costs are low, supermarket food is cheaper than the States, but still expensive due to world food probelms and inflation. The only way to stay ahead is to live like a local and even they are suffering under inflation and service problems.
[QUOTE=Thomaso276]It never ends:
I know some folks don't like these kind of posts but here we go again; from Clarin today:
[url]http://www.clarin.com/diario/2008/05/09/laciudad/h-01667896.htm[/url]
Aumentan 22,5% los taxis en la Capital.
La suba quedó confirmada tras una audiencia pública. La bajada de bandera pasa de $ 3,10 a $ 3,80. Desde el año 2003 el alza de la tarifa alcanza a 171%.
El líder del sindicato gastronómico, Luis Barrionuevo, anunció ayer que acordó con los empresarios del sector un aumento salarial del 31 por ciento.
Taxis up again by 22%. Since 2003 up %171. The tourist, hotel union (possibly including restaurant workers, I looked at the unions webpage but couldn't figure it out) get up to a 31% raise. Guess what happens to their prices.
Farmers vs. Government - don't be surprised if there are a few bloody noses (or worse) this time around.
I cannot see the value of a trip here from the USA. About 1200 bucks for a flight plus 100-150 nightly for a hotel for one week. That's 2 grand just to get here. The guys I know who come here don't eat at a local deli so "decent" dinners at tourist spots or trendy Palermo spots (outside of L'Alliance which is holding prices as well as they can) are expensive. My take (feel free to disagree):
7 days cost in dollars (7 days in BA, not including travel days)
Travel 1200 (not including your costs to and from local airport in States, parking and money spent in airport at overpriced Burger Kings and Starbucks)
Hotel: 800 (I know, Jackson's place is only 75 nightly! And some short term apartment rentals are about the same)
Breakfast simple $6 daily - 40
Lunch specials 8$ daily - 60
Dinners $30 daily - 200
Transportation - black and yellow radio cabs.
EZE Airport to / from $40 (remis $60)
4 cab rides daily 12 x 7 = $85 - according to Clarin chart 17 blocks will be a little over 10 pesos. I do not think this includes waiting time.
Not including cabs to / from clubs.
Chicas: one privado daytime midlevel - 50 and one club nightly 70 (not including drinks for you and chicas or any 200 dollar a night Recoleta hookers!
That's about 450 daily for a week and I believe it is the low end of costs leaving out overpriced stuff you buy here, overpriced chicas, too much drinking, overtipping, etc. Your costs 600 - 700 bucks a day for a week here. I remember Exon talking about his trips during the 90's costing 5 grand because this was a very expensive city at the time. We are closing in on that.
Where is the bargain? If you live here - utilities, public transportation and taxes are low. Medical costs are low, supermarket food is cheaper than the States, but still expensive due to world food probelms and inflation. The only way to stay ahead is to live like a local and even they are suffering under inflation and service problems.[/QUOTE]Well, it only takes 40K frequent flyer miles for a ticket from the U. S. - which is certainly a better deal than $1200. Plus, you can easily rent an apartment for $300-400 for a week, rather than spend $1000 on a hotel.
As for eating - I assume you would still eat if you stayed in the U. S. rather than went to Argentina. I personally ate steak dinners nearly every night of my trip. Usually for under 40 pesos a meal.
For companionship, most of the privados I went to cost 60-100 pesos, for an hour, which is $19-32 USD per session, not $50. In fact, I never spent more than 120 pesos, or $39 USD for a session during my entire trip. I have no need for $200 Recoleta hookers, when I can spend 2 pesos to hop the bus to/from the privados that cost 60-100 pesos an hour for good quality service.
As for transportation, other than going to and from airports, I took the bus or subte everywhere I went except when I walked. Buenos Aires has an extensive public transit system, and it is not any hardship at all to use it. Bus and Subte each cost less than 30 cents per trip. Except when going to/from airports, my transportation costs came out to two dollars a day.
FYI, my trip to Argentina for 3 full weeks cost me $4K, and $1500 of that was for side trips to Iguazu and and Mendoza that had nothing to do with mongering. So, overall, I spent $2500 and 40K AA miles for 2 weeks in Buenos Aires, which included 25 shags. I spent $180 US per day, overall, not the $600 day you calculated. Even if you assume that my 40000 AAdvantage miles were worth $600, I still spent well under $250 per day.
I also do not go to bars to drink and party and spend a lot of money going to night clubs, but I do not see any reason why anyone's behaviour and costs with respect to that would be significantly different from what it is when they are in the U.S.
[QUOTE=Member #2041]Well, it only takes 40K frequent flyer miles for a ticket from the U. S. - which is certainly a better deal than $1200. Plus, you can easily rent an apartment for $300-400 for a week, rather than spend $1000 on a hotel.
As for eating - I assume you would still eat if you stayed in the U. S. Rather than went to Argentina. I personally ate steak dinners nearly every night of my trip. Usually for under 40 pesos a meal.
For companionship, most of the privados I went to cost 60-100 pesos, for an hour, which is $19-32 USD per session, not $50. In fact, I never spent more than 120 pesos, or $39 USD for a session during my entire trip. I have no need for $200 Recoleta hookers, when I can spend 2 pesos to hop the bus to / from the privados that cost 60-100 pesos an hour for good quality service.
As for transportation, other than going to and from airports, I took the bus or subte everywhere I went except when I walked. Buenos Aires has an extensive public transit system, and it is not any hardship at all to use it. Bus and Subte each cost less than 30 cents per trip. Except when going to / from airports, my transportation costs came out to two dollars a day.
FYI, my trip to Argentina for 3 full weeks cost me $4K, and $1500 of that was for side trips to Iguazu and and Mendoza that had nothing to do with mongering. So, overall, I spent $2500 and 40K AA miles for 2 weeks in Buenos Aires, which included 25 shags. I spent $180 US per day, overall, not the $600 day you calculated. Even if you assume that my 40000 AAdvantage miles were worth $600, I still spent well under $250 per day.
I also do not go to bars to drink and party and spend a lot of money going to night clubs, but I do not see any reason why anyone's behaviour and costs with respect to that would be significantly different from what it is when they are in the U. S.[/QUOTE]I agree with a lot of your post for the seasoned monger, but the average newbie would probably pay closer to Thomaso’s figures, and brag about how cheap it is compared to what he pays at home.
One thing I would point out is that a 40,000 mile Award ticket would be for “off-peak ”, however “peak ” is 60,000 miles and you’re limited by availability. If you buy miles, 40,000 would cost $1,000.00 and 60,000 miles would cost $1500.00. [size=-5][color=red][b] (* Prices are in U.S. dollars and do not include applicable taxes or $30 per transaction processing fee. 40,000 mile maximum purchase per transaction)[/size][/color][/b] Looks to me like Thomaso is on the mark here.
[url]https://buy.points.com/AAdvantage/init.do?method=buy[/url]
[url]https://www.aa.com/aa/i18nForward.do?p=/AAdvantage/partners/airlines/americanAirlines.jsp#awardchart[/url]
What do you think your trip would have cost two years ago, that's the point!
[QUOTE=Punter 127]
One thing I would point out is that a 40000 mile Award ticket would be for "off-peak ", however "peak " is 60000 miles and you're limited by availability. If you buy miles 40000 would cost $1000.00 and 60000 miles would cost $1500.00. [size=-5][color=red][b] (* Prices are in U.S. dollars and do not include applicable taxes or $30 per transaction processing fee. 40000 mile maximum purchase per transaction)[/size][/color][/b] Looks to me like Thomaso is on the mark here.
[url]https://buy.points.com/AAdvantage/init.do?method=buy[/url]
[url]https://www.aa.com/aa/i18nForward.do?p=/AAdvantage/partners/airlines/americanAirlines.jsp#awardchart[/url]
What do you think your trip would have cost two years ago, that's the point![/QUOTE]That being said, a 40K award is probably less restrictive than the lowest cost coach fares. At least I found that to be the case when I booked my ticket.
And the fact is, the airlines price those miles for purchase at the level where they are making profit on them. When dealing with other organizations such as credit cards, which is how I got most of my AA miles, the credit card vendors pay more like 1 cent per mile that they award. When I use my FF miles, I generally value them at 1.5 cents, and if I can get the same ticket for 1.5 cents or less relative to the cost in miles, I'll use money, rather than miles, to buy it. So, if buying the ticket cost me $700 (or, more precisely, $700 more than the fees which using miles would entail) I would have bought the ticket with miles, not money. If the ticket cost only $550 more than the FF mile fees, I'd have bought it with money, not miles, and $600 was my indifference price for a ticket that cost 40K miles.
As for what my trip would have cost 2 years ago, I really don't know, because 2 years ago, I spent most of my mongering time in Thailand, which has experienced an even greater decline in purchasing power relative to the dollar than Argentina has.
And while I am surely no newbie relative to mongering in general, this WAS my first trip ever to Argentina, and I found no difficulty in renting private apartments and learning the public transport system, nor the particulars of navigating my way around the hobbying scene in Argentina.
BA still seems cheap to me but everybody has their own lifestyle. If you live here it still beats the hell out of alot of other places. For vacationing mongers who frequent the high end clubs, splurge at well known restaurants, take cabs everywhere they go, and generally don't know, or care, about the lay of the land, then definitely, they are seeing a huge decrease in purchase power. Rent increases still remain the biggest irritation for expats here. Most increases in colectivos and alot of other things are chickenfeed. Even the cabfare increases are not so bad unless you use them constantly. Hey, no matter where you live, if you plan on the top notch with everything, you are going to pay accordingly. Argentina has been an exception due to the meltdown, but that couldn't last forever.
[QUOTE=Member #2041]That being said, a 40K award is probably less restrictive than the lowest cost coach fares. At least I found that to be the case when I booked my ticket.
And the fact is, the airlines price those miles for purchase at the level where they are making profit on them. When dealing with other organizations such as credit cards, which is how I got most of my AA miles, the credit card vendors pay more like 1 cent per mile that they award. When I use my FF miles, I generally value them at 1.5 cents, and if I can get the same ticket for 1.5 cents or less relative to the cost in miles, I'll use money, rather than miles, to buy it. So, if buying the ticket cost me $700 (or, more precisely, $700 more than the fees which using miles would entail) I would have bought the ticket with miles, not money. If the ticket cost only $550 more than the FF mile fees, I'd have bought it with money, not miles, and $600 was my indifference price for a ticket that cost 40K miles.
As for what my trip would have cost 2 years ago, I really don't know, because 2 years ago, I spent most of my mongering time in Thailand, which has experienced an even greater decline in purchasing power relative to the dollar than Argentina has.
And while I am surely no newbie relative to mongering in general, this WAS my first trip ever to Argentina, and I found no difficulty in renting private apartments and learning the public transport system, nor the particulars of navigating my way around the hobbying scene in Argentina.[/QUOTE]I think you are the exception not the rule, I am as well but most guys are not going to travel that distance for 60-130p privado grade pussy. I have always rented apartments in BsAs but look at the price increases of renting an apartment. Just go back and look at what Jackson was charging 2 years ago. On my first trip to BsAs in Oct. 2004 the taxi meter drop was 1.30p, on my last trip it was 3.10p and going up again soon I hear. Miapu 359 was 60p an hour now its 90P and I ’m sure it ’s heading up as well, $600u$s airfare is also an exception, (I can ’t do that on every trip, 3 or 4 trips a year) the list goes on and on. It ’s just not the deal it once was and I think better deals can be had. I know several mongers that have either pulled the plug on BsAs or reduced their number of trips, and several others who are considering it.