Argentine Bonds, Stocks Plunge on Pension Takeover Speculation - BLG

Oct. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Argentine bonds plunged, sending benchmark dollar yields over 24 percent, and stocks sank to a four-year low on speculation the government will nationalize pension funds in a bid to attain financing and stave off a second default this decade. President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will unveil a new pension fund plan at 4 p.m. New York time today, the country's social security administration said in a statement. Fernandez will nationalize the system, giving the government control of $29 billion in retirement accounts, La Nacion reported, citing government officials it didn't identify. Fernandez has struggled to raise cash to cover growing financing needs as the global financial crisis drives down prices on the country's commodity exports and erodes demand for higher- yielding, developing-nation debt. The government's borrowing needs will climb to $11.2 billion next year from $6.6 billion in 2007, Credit Suisse Group said in an Oct. 8 report.