Standard&Poor's Ratings Services ratings on the Republic of Argentina primarily reflect the government's inability to gain access to diverse sources of financing. At the same time, there is a lack of predictability on the direction of economic policies, and political polarization has been gradually increasing. Partially mitigating these weaknesses, the government's financing needs are only moderate, though they are increasing. In addition, despite the fiscal deterioration and high inflation, we expect Argentina to have a fiscal deficit of less than 1% of GDP in 2010 and a surplus in the current account of the balance of payments (estimated at 2.3% of GDP). One of Argentina's critical problems is its inability to finance itself in either the international or
