Markets

Sovereign shift

A hundred years ago if a country was reluctant to pay its debts, gunboats may steam to its shores. Since then sovereign immunity has reigned but the latest development in a legal argument over Argentina's 2001 defaulted debt could shift the balance toward creditors. Whitney Debevoise, former US executive director of the World Bank, explains to capital markets correspondent Robin Wigglesworth the implications of the US court case on sovereign debt markets.