Countries/Regions

As Argentina gears up for negotiations with the bondholders it stiffed 18 months ago, other sovereign issuers and banks are experimenting with a new generation of bonds that could profoundly reshape the debt market for years to come.

Panama's economy ran out of steam four years ago and it is struggling to meet deficit targets. The country is looking for new sources of economic fuel but it needs a major boost soon.

Mexico's electricity commission issues a bond backed by receivables from its corporate customers. The bond is the first unsecured asset-backed bond from a government entity.

Vitro, the Mexican glassmaker, is trying to fend off Asian competitors with value-added products. But a weighty debt load and weakening cashflow aren't making the company's survival any easier.

The Caribbean is battling a particularly difficult global environment. Economies throughout the region face serious challenges, although oil-rich Trinidad and Tobago is in better shape than most.

One of the most remarkable features of Argentina's debt debacle is the government's attempt to shift the burden of adjustment away from the domestic economy, transferring wealth from creditors to debtors, and from future generations to current ones. Guillermo Mondino says the long-term consequences of such a strategy are serious and warns other countries to take heed.