In Ms Bevacqua's day, INDEC artificially boosted the inflation rate, perhaps to benefit holders of inflation-linked bonds, she claims.

ECONOMIST: Argentina��s inflation problem

The financial threat is especially serious for Graciela Bevacqua, who lost her job as head of INDEC in 2007 for refusing to tamper with the price index.

ECONOMIST: Stalinist practices in Buenos Aires

"There is considerable evidence to suggest that Japanese consumers substituted domestic purchases for overseas travel in the wake of the terrorist attacks, " said Ron Bevacqua, chief economist at Commerzbank Securities.

BBC: A trader takes a break as markets in Japan firm