Brief respite for hard-up Argentines

Hundreds of unemployed demonstrated in Buenos Aires

Banks in Argentina are to open for five hours for limited operations on Friday for the first time this week.

They were closed after a series of court rulings allowed Argentines to withdraw their cash, leaving some banks very low on reserves.

But Congress has now passed a law making it more difficult for people to get their money.

The crisis provoked a major reshuffle in the government of President Eduardo Duhalde, with the resignation of Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov.

Meltdown fears

Under the measure passed by Congress, savers who mount successful legal challenges against existing restrictions on withdrawals will be prevented from claiming their money until the government has had a chance to appeal.

Mr Duhalde's government has gone some way to meeting IMF demands

The move gives the beleaguered Argentine Government some breathing space as it battles to contain a run on the banks which could trigger a total financial meltdown.

The Argentine central bank closed all banks for an indefinite period late last week in an effort to halt a flood of panic withdrawals.

Banks are expected to re-open between midday and 1700 (1600 to 2100GMT).

IMF tensions

After four years of recession, Argentina is burdened by a $141bn debt mountain, a banking and financial system in disarray, and a poverty-stricken people hit by soaring unemployment.

The Argentine Government is attempting to convince the International Monetary Fund to resume lending, cut off in December when the country defaulted on its debt repayments.

A successor to Lenicov is expected to be appointed at the weekend

But the IMF has said it will only agree to further loans if the Argentine Government pushes through an austerity package that is likely to prove highly unpopular with voters.

The country's most recent pleas last weekend were met with further demands from the international lender, exacerbating tensions between the two sides.

Partial success

Mr Duhalde's government has gone some way towards meeting IMF demands.

On Wednesday, he clinched a landmark agreement with the country's powerful provincial governors to undertake belt-tightening reforms demanded by the IMF.

But a push to rescue the country's banking system by converting 60% of bank deposits into government bonds - in effect forcing savers to lend to the government - failed earlier this week, leading to the resignation of the economy minister.