Posts tagged as:
I love the story about Argentina's mysterious shortage of coins, or monedas. It's a fun little tale about a bizarre trend, complete with quirky subplots; governments fudging inflation data, coin-rich metro bus companies, which only accept payment in coins, supporting a whole moneda black market. In fact, I love it so much I wrote an article on the matter...
Full Article: Basta on the Argentine Coin Stories -Newsweek Blog
{ 0 comments }
Argentina's president has announced a new electronic ticketing system for Buenos Aires' public transport to fight the capital's dire shortage of coins.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said her government was investing some $57m (£39m) to end a black market in coins which had developed in recent years.
In Buenos Aires, one cannot use buses and trains without coins, and other services have run out of change.
Full Article: Argentina acts to end coin crisis - BBC News
{ 0 comments }
Suppose you want to ride the bus or feed a parking meter without exact change. Or suppose you just want to drop a few cents in a street musician's hat. Nothing easier, right? Not if you live in Argentina. Try doing any of these things there, and you could be in for a major hassle.
Why? Because Argentina is in the grips of a small-change shortage. Want change for a five-peso (about $1.70) note? Don't try getting it at a store, unless you plan to buy something -- and be ready in that case to have the merchant refuse your business rather than part with precious centavos, or to have him hand you bon-bons instead of coins. Banks aren't much help either.
Read article: Argentina Is Short of Cash – Literally - WSJ.com
{ 0 comments }
In Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, the sort of money that jingles carries more weight than the sort that folds. A severe shortage of coins, allegedly at the hands of black market traders who amass large amounts of coins to sell them to small business owners for a profit, has led shopkeepers to go such extremes as offering inexpensive goods such as candy or mints in place of change. Larger stores simply round off bills in their own favor.
“The problem is that the banks, bus companies and toll companies that soak up most of the loose change in circulation have discovered that reselling the coins is a tremendously lucrative business with a profit margin of up to 8% tax free, because it is an illegal trade on the black market,” Miguel Calvette told Time magazine.
Read article: Argentina’s Coin Scarcity Leads to Illicit Numismatic Trade
{ 0 comments }
