Argentine Debt Devastated by Data Suspicion, Election

The widespread suspicion that the government of President Nestor Kirchner has manipulated inflation data and the likelihood that his wife Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will succeed him are transforming the Argentine bond market into a financial bloodbath.

Argentina's benchmark inflation-linked bonds have tumbled 24 percent this year, making the country's debt market the worst performer in the world, according to data compiled by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bloomberg.

Polls show that Fernandez is the front-runner to replace Kirchner in next week's elections. She rebuts claims by government statisticians that Kirchner's administration forced them to tamper with consumer price data to hide the extent of inflation. Merrill Lynch & Co., the world's biggest brokerage, estimates prices may be rising at a 17 percent annual pace, double the official rate.

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