News Archives » vulture funds
Hedge Funds Win/Global Poor Lose August 23rd, 2013
Argentine Bonds Surge. Ruling Delayed as U.S. Supreme Court Considers Taking Appeal
WASHINGTON, DC – In the landmark case of NML Capital, LTD v. The Republic of Argentina, the New York based U.S. Circuit Court upheld a previous ruling ordering Argentina to pay $1.33 billion to hold out hedge funds. Argentine bonds soared and antipoverty advocates held their breath as the 2nd Circuit Court delayed the ruling until the U.S. Supreme Court decides if they will take appeals on the case.
“Our eyes are on the U.S. Supreme Court. We pray the court will not forget the world’s poor as they consider taking the case,” asserted Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious antipoverty campaign known as Jubilee USA.
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Obama Administration Says No to Vulture Funds July 7th, 2013
Last week, Jubilee’s Executive Committee wrote President Obama to thank him and his Administration for their efforts to stop vulture funds that profit from exploiting poor people. The Reverend Séamus Finn, OMI, a Jubilee USA Board Executive Officer, signed on to the letter, representing the Oblates. The Justice Department filed an Amicus or friend-of-the-court brief in the current legal proceedings of hedge fund NML Capital versus Argentina. The outcome of this vulture fund case will have far reaching impacts on global poverty.
Read the letter to President Obama and join Jubilee USA in thanking the President: sign the thank-you petition to President Obama. Judges in the US 2nd Circuit Court will soon announce a ruling. Days ago, Argentina filed a preemptive appeal to the US Supreme Court to reverse the ruling to pay the vulture funds.
Jubilee USA’s views on this case have been covered extensively in the mainstream media. To fully understand the case and its repercussions on global poverty, read the story that featured Jubilee USA in the Los Angeles Times. Recently in The Financial Times, Jubilee USA called these rich hedge funds what they are, “morally bankrupt.”
We hope you will join us in thanking President Obama for standing up to vulture funds. Please visit the Jubilee USA website for more information on this important issue. Read the letter (download PDF)…
Argentina Takes on Vulture Funds in “Debt Trial of the Century” April 23rd, 2013
For years, “vulture funds” have preyed on struggling nations by purchasing their debt for a pittance. Could an upcoming U.S. court decision put an end to the extortion of poor countries?
Read the article in Sojourner’s Magazine by Jubilee USA Director Eric LeCompte:
Last October, soldiers from the West African nation of Ghana boarded an Argentine naval ship called the Libertad. They overtook the crew and brought the ship to port in the town of Tema. This was not an act of piracy, at least not in the sense we normally understand it. The detaining of the Libertad took place after hedge fund NML Capital convinced a Ghanaian court that the ship, which was sailing in Ghanaian jurisdiction, should be held ransom for a debt the hedge funds claimed Argentina owed them.
The saga began in 2001, when Argentina was thrown into economic crisis and defaulted on its loans. Hedge funds swooped in and bought Argentine debt for almost nothing and circled until the country was in recovery to collect the debt in full.
Jubilee USA holds Vigil Against Vulture Funds outside New York Courthouse February 28th, 2013
Yesterday, Jubilee USA stood with the poor and against vulture funds at the New York 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals – the last stop before the Supreme Court. Anti-debt supporters held a vigil outside and observed with hundreds of people packed into the courtroom, and several overflow rooms.
The media have been very interested in the story. Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Jubilee USA Executive Director, Eric LeCompte: “We pray that they will side with the people of Argentina, the US government and the world’s poorest people. If the judges rule in favor of these hedge funds, it will mean these funds will more aggressively target poor countries in fragile financial recovery. If they rule with Argentina, it will mean that it will be harder for these types of funds to exploit countries in financial distress.”
In addition to Jubilee USA’s vigil outside the US Court, Jubilee South organized an amazing demonstration in Buenos Aires and Jubilee Debt Campaign banged pots and pans outside the doors of the London office of the lead vulture fund, NML Capital.
Watch a video of the vigil by Occupy Bronx.
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The Debt ‘Trial of the Century’ – Vulture Hedge Funds v. Argentina February 26th, 2013
US Government Files Brief Supporting Argentina Faith Community to Vigil Outside Court Proceeding on Wednesday
On February 27th, two holdout vulture funds, including Paul Singer’s NML Capital, are in a New York Federal court verses Argentina. The Financial Times has dubbed the proceeding the “‘the trial of the century’ in sovereign debt restructuring.” The US Government filed a friend-of-the-court brief noting a ruling against Argentina could make it much harder for countries in financial recovery or countries facing economic stresses to access credit and debt swaps.
The faith community and other groups, organized by Jubilee USA, will vigil out of concern for poor people affected by vulture funds during the proceeding outside the Federal 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday, February 27th starting at 1:00 PM in New York City. Vigils will also take place in London and Buenos Aires.
“If these vulture hedge funds win, it will mean they will more aggressively target poor countries in fragile financial recovery. If we win, it will mean that it will be harder for vulture funds to target the monies that develop social infrastructure in many poor countries,” said Eric LeCompte, Jubilee USA Network Executive Director. The US Province of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate is an organizational member of Jubilee USA, and has supported debt relief work for several decades.
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