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A group of bondholders has rejected a proposal from Argentina to restructure tens of billions of dollars in foreign debt, raising the likelihood that the South American nation could enter into default as early as next month, the Wall Street Journal reported. Other bondholders are expected to follow suit to present a united front against the deal. The Argentina Credit Committee — a group that includes mutual funds, insurance companies and asset managers — said today that the offer from President Alberto Fernández’s government fell far short of bondholder expectations. The committee said it hasn’t received “substantiated forward-looking economic and financial information” from Argentina, nor seen feasible economic policies. “The ACC has reviewed Argentina’s proposal and cannot support it,” the group said in a statement. “The ACC invites Argentina to abandon the unilateral route and make time for a meaningful negotiation.” A separate committee of large mutual funds including BlackRock Inc. plans to make a similar announcement shortly. On Friday, Argentina presented a proposal to exchange some $65 billion in foreign bonds into new debt at lower interest rates and with later due dates in a bid to avoid another painful default. The offer involves more than $40 billion in debt relief, mainly through reduced interest payments. It includes a three-year moratorium on foreign-debt payments, with an average coupon of 2.33 percent once interest payments resume.

The mayor of Alaska’s northernmost borough sought to seize some of the airplanes, hangars and equipment of bankrupt Ravn Air Group Inc. to ensure that remote communities continue to receive food, medicine and other goods, the Wall Street Journal reported. Though Alaska’s assistant attorney general said that the mayor didn’t have the authority to take the property, the mayor’s move surprised the airline and its lenders, which expressed concerns that other towns might use the same tactic. North Slope Borough Mayor Harry K. Brower Jr. on Sunday issued an emergency order seeking to commandeer the carrier’s local fleet and other assets, saying they have provided vital freight and passenger services to the borough’s roughly 9,000 permanent residents. The borough is nearly twice the size of New York state. His move came the same day that Anchorage-based Ravn filed for bankruptcy, saying it had run out of cash, grounded all 72 of its aircraft, and laid off virtually its entire 1,300-person workforce as revenue dried up due to the novel coronavirus. The North Slope government hasn’t seized any Ravn Air property, a spokeswoman for the airline said yesterday.