The former Repsol-YPF tower in Puerto Madero (photo: Wikipedia)
Repsol Agrees To US$5bn Settlement With Government Over YPF Takeover: The board of directors at Spanish oil company Repsol today accepted a US$5bn compensation from the government for the expropriation of its assets in Argentina following the nationalisation of YPF in 2012. According to a Repsol press release, the settlement consists of a fixed package of three types of sovereign bonds with a nominal value of US$5bn, and a complementary package of three other bonds worth a maximum of US$1bn, to cover any discounts in the market value of the first package. The agreement will only be finalised after it is approved by Repsol shareholders at the Annual General Meeting in March, and ratified by the Argentine Congress. As part of the settlement, which is around half the US$10.5bn originally demanded by Repsol, the company will drop all legal action brought against Argentina.
Murder and Tension After New Villa Lugano Occupation: A man was killed in a dispute last night as around 200 people occupied a piece of land near the Parque Indoamericano in the neigbourhood of Villa Lugano. Osvaldo Soto, 30, was shot as families marked out informal lots in a police vehicle impound on the outskirts of the Villa 20, in the south-western corner of Buenos Aires. The settlers are demanding land to build property, claiming the city government has failed to deliver on promises of social housing. Secretary of Security Sergio Berni met with representatives of the settlers today, but no agreement has been reached yet. Berni criticised Buenos Aires public prosecutor Carlos Rolero for not responding to calls last night or ordering police to evacuate the police property before more people moved in. Rolero said later that he was seeking a peaceful resolution, and said that the Metropolitan Police has not been given an order to remove the settlers by force.
In December 2010, around 5,000 informal settlers occupied the Parque Indoamericano for several days, leading to a stand off between Federal and Metropolitan police forces and violent clashes that left three dead.
Construction Worker Killed in Building Collapse: The collapse of a building site in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Balvanera this morning killed one construction worker and injured another four. The construction workers’ union UOCRA said in a statement that the building site had been reported to the city government on 12th February for “multiple breaches” of work safety regulations. “Unfortunately, the lack of responsibility by the business and lack of action by the controlling authorities, in spite of warnings by UOCRA, have once again combined to take the life of workers,” said the union.