INTERNATIONAL

Argentina Plans Deregulation: The Argentine government said it will allow shops and factories to negotiate wages directly with employees instead of national unions under a sweeping deregulation order. “We’re going to totally deregulate the economy,” President Carlos Saul Menem told a business group. “There is no possibility for a modern Argentina if we don’t take these measures.” The goal is to stimulate an economy that is showing signs of growth after two decades of inflation and recession. Since taking office in 1989, Menem has sold the state airline and phone company; leased oil fields, highways and railroads; removed currency controls, prices and interest rates, and reduced the fiscal deficit.