Exclusive-Inside IMF, stance hardens on Argentina as $44 billion deal skids off track

The International Monetary Fund has hardened its view on how Argentina is running a $44 billion loan programme that has gone off track ahead of the country's key presidential vote later in November, according to three sources with direct knowledge. The IMF's board of executive directors met in a previously unreported meeting on Oct. 30 for an informal briefing on Argentina by the Fund's staff, as the South American nation is battling triple-digit inflation and with net reserves in the red in the run-up to the presidential vote. During the meeting, concerns were raised on how fast the country has been burning through international reserves since the latest programme review in August, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the talks are private.