Randomly Noted

Argentina’s court system, it seems, is fully functional, even if its government isn’t.  Today’s developments in the riveting scandal forged by President Cristina Fernandez: Two presidential decrees were overturned in federal court – one decree would have shifted $6.6 billion in central bank reserves to the Treasury to pay down government debt; the other would have fired Central Bank governor Martin Redrado. So, the people of Argentina keep their foreign exchange reserves within the Central Bank’s prudent remit, and Redrado stays in his job. For now. Investors can’t rest easy, of course. Fernandez may well find another way to spend down the reserves and otherwise meddle with the Central Bank’s leadership. The government has a couple days to submit appeals to the federal judge. The situation had become so odd that Redrado’s No. 2, Deputy Governor Mario Angel Pesce, had temporarily taken over the top spot after the President had booted out the boss. Pesce is once again second-in-command. Again, for now. Stay tuned to more minute-by-minute reporting by DJN’s Matt Cowley and WSJ’s Matt Moffett, both in Buenos Aires.