Argentina Scrambles To Avoid Default

Published July 30, 2014 at 12:35 PM CDT

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Retired citizens await the opening of the Banco Provincia bank headquarters in the financial district near Plaza de Mayo square to collect their pensions, in Buenos Aires on July 30, 2014. Last-ditch talks aimed at averting Argentina's second default in 13 years were to resume Wednesday in New York, after Tuesday's marathon session failed to reach a deal. (Daniel Garcia/AFP/Getty Images)

An American judge has ordered Argentina to make debt payments of $1.5 billion to American creditors. But time is running out.

If Argentina doesn’t pay the U.S. hedge funds by midnight, it will default on its bond payments for the second time in 13 years. The last default, in 2001, led Argentinians to protest the declining economic conditions in their country.

Bloomberg News’ Michael Regan joins Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson to discuss what this could mean for the Argentinian economy and the American hedge funds who took a gamble buying up Argentina’s risky bonds.

Guest

Michael P. Regan, editor-at-large at Bloomberg News. He tweets @Reganonymous.