Massa vs. Milei, Colombia-China, Chile’s peso worries

In Argentina, investors’ nerves have been calmed a little after Sergio Massa, the Peronist presidential candidate who came top in the first round vote, showed signs of moderation. But likely fiscal giveaways in the run-up to the second round will make it even harder to sort out Argentina’s economic mess. Elsewhere, while Colombia and China strengthened their relations this week, a closer look suggests that concerns about Colombia moving into China’s orbit may be overdone. Finally, Chile's central bank was clearly concerned about recent falls in the peso at yesterday’s meeting, but we remain of the view that interest rates will come down more quickly than in most other EMs.