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Argentina and Morocco

Pascale Harter presents personal stories from BBC correspondents Paul Moss, fighting to find facts on the economy in Buenos Aires, and Terry Egan, plunging into the maelstrom of commerce in Marrakech.

Insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers from around the world. Presented by Pascale Harter. In this edition:

Hard times - but few hard data

As Greece tries to renegotiate its debts – once again - there are plenty of Greek voters, and even politicians, arguing "Let's not pay the loans back. Just default! Default! We'll be fine, just look at Argentina..."

The comparison has been made a lot in recent months. But did defaulting on those debts really work, back in 2002? It certainly seemed to at the time. But a decade later, Paul Moss has been back to Buenos Aires to check whether that bust really did give rise to a boom.

Rules of the game

Now if it was Morocco negotiating its way out of a debt crisis, you can be sure it would talk its way to some pretty favourable terms. Especially if the market traders of Marrakech were leading the negotiations: their tactics and stamina in haggling is legendary.

Terry Egan recently visited the city and was entranced by its relentless hustle and bustle. But could he avoid being left out of pocket, in a place where there’s always a deal to be struck?

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10 minutes

Last on

Sat 25 Aug 201203:50GMT

Broadcasts

  • Fri 24 Aug 201207:50GMT
  • Fri 24 Aug 201210:50GMT
  • Fri 24 Aug 201214:50GMT
  • Fri 24 Aug 201218:50GMT
  • Sat 25 Aug 201200:50GMT
  • Sat 25 Aug 201203:50GMT