However, Tom Dawson, an IMF spokesman, last night offered a glimmer of hope, saying that Buenos Aires could help the situation through elaboration of its fiscal plans and explanation as to how they intend to comply with the “zero-deficit” budget plan.”What could move the process forward is indeed further collaboration of the measures, fiscal measures, that are being considered for the programme,” Mr Dawson said. The Argentine Congress is to debate next year’s budget in the coming weeks. Previous budget targets have not been met.The state-run Banco de la Nacion is set to take over Argentina’s private pension fund accounts held in banks to pay public service wages and pensions, Mr Cavallo said. “The funds will go into the Treasury’s account at Banco de la Nacion so the bank can make regular payments and so other banks can make all pension and salary payments,” he added.Private pension funds hold $3.5bn in bank accounts, but it was not clear how much cash the government was taking.Customers lined up outside banks in the capital to withdraw as much cash as allowed under capital restrictions imposed last weekend.

“Once I get all my money, I’m going to take it to Uruguay or put it in an account in the Cayman Islands or New York. I have no trust at all in the financial system or the government,” one said.Meanwhile, the World Bank and Inter American Development Bank said they had frozen $1.1bn in loans to Argentina.. THE MARKET liked yesterday’s results from Six Continents, the hotels group which changed its name from Bass in July, though in truth they were a mixed bag. But it was ironic that the two divisions which got the group out of the drink were Britvic, which it was trying to sell earlier this year, and pubs, which the City has regarded as non-core.The hotels division, which includes Inter-Continental and Holiday Inn, has had a terrible time due to the terrorist attacks of 11 September. This is most acute in the group’s upscale hotels where revenue per available room is down by 30 to 40 per cent.The question for investors is how much of this bad news is already priced into the shares. In fact the shares have been discounting the gloom since September when they hit a low of 548p.

They have surged since then as the market has looked through the downturn towards the recovery.But Tim Clarke, the chief executive of Six Continents, says it could take another six months for long-haul travellers to return. And when questioned on acquisition plans, Sir Ian Prosser, its chairman, says that hotels groups’ asset prices do not yet reflect the downturn. If that is the case then Six Continents’ assets are likely to feel the pain over that period too.It is true that Six Continents has the firepower for deals that would position it well for the upturn It also has the brands and scale to fare better than most. But while the US market is improving, the picture is cloudy elsewhere. The management is coping with the slump by reducing costs and using the quieter trading spell to spend about £600m on hotel refurbishment this year.That could take until 2003 in upmarket hotels.

Assuming profits of about £620m this year, the shares – up another 31p to 734.5p yesterday – trade on a forward price-earnings ratio of 15. That looks up with events.CourtsInvestors taking a first look at Courts might be surprised to find the furniture stores group is not exclusively, or even mainly, a UK chain. Only 40 per cent of sales are from these shores, and none of the operating profits. Shareholders must be ready to take on the risks of investing in the retail trade in economies as far flung as Barbados, Malaysia and Mauritius.And those risks are increasing. Interim results yesterday missed City forecasts, Courts said, because “overseas markets experienced a difficult first half as the worldwide recession deepened”. Sales fell £15m to £309.5m, and the group slumped to a £1.4m pre-tax loss.