One week after taking office, Economy Minister Silvina Batakis made her first major policy announcements on July 11th. They included a freeze on state employment as part of a general reduction of public spending, the segmentation of public service billing starting yesterday, pegging interest rates ahead of inflation to encourage saving, the revaluation of property assessment for tax purposes and the creation of a single account for state companies under the umbrella of the Economy Ministry. She also upheld the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the objectives of its programme, despite which market reactions during that week were generally negative.