Overview

A nail-biting week for emerging markets. As fears mounted that Argentina might default on its $128 billion debt, lenders demanded higher interest rates not only from Argentina, but from all emerging economies. Argentine shares plunged by 12% to a three-year low. Share prices fell by 21% in Turkey, another troubled debtor. Several currencies fell to record lows, including the Brazilian real, the Chilean peso and the Venezuelan peso; so did the Turkish lira, the Polish zloty and the South African rand.