Bond Darwinism Buoys Default-Tested Corporates: Argentina Credit

Argentine company bonds, buffered by the third-highest yields in the world and reduced debt burdens, are defying a global selloff to post the best returns in emerging markets.

Dollar bonds from Argentine companies including Pan American Energy LLC and Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 SA gained 6.8 percent this year, including reinvested interest, as corporate notes globally lost 1.3 percent, according to data compiled by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. Argentina’s government securities, ensnared by a legal dispute over defaulted debt, have lost 12 percent in 2013, the third worst decline among 56 developing nations tracked by JPMorgan.