The main lesson of Argentina's debt nightmare

The root cause of Argentina's woes should be familiar to many Europeans

Argentina
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano))

There is no easy way out for cash-strapped Argentina, which on Thursday defaulted on its sovereign debt for the second time in 12 years after holders of the country's restructured bonds failed to receive interest payments worth $539 million.

This crisis has been long in the making. And though it is the result of several factors, Argentina's original sin is clear: borrowing in a currency out of its control.

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John Aziz is the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also an associate editor at Pieria.co.uk. Previously his work has appeared on Business Insider, Zero Hedge, and Noahpinion.