NEWS FLASH

UPCOMING WEBINAR - CAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA: ECONOMIC UPSWINGS AND POL...

Devaluation 2015: Act Two
VENEZUELA · In Brief · 23 Jan 2015

Maduro’s announcements on 21 January 2015 devalue the bolivar by morphing the exchange rate regime, keeping multiple exchange rates, forex controls and rationing. Arbitrage and corruption will continue marring the system. President Maduro said this regime is "temporary”. The price of the dollar r...

Devaluation 2015: Act One
VENEZUELA · In Brief · 05 Jan 2015 · 2 responses

After the long suspense caused by President Maduro’s announcements of "a new exchange system", made on December 30, Exchange Agreement 32 circulated on January 5. The delay, added to recent changes in the boards of Pdvsa and Cencoex, suggest that the government’s team disagreed on the foreign exc...

Deep Recession and Large Risks in 2015
VENEZUELA · Forecast · 22 Dec 2014

Executive Summary This report updates our macroeconomic outlook for 2015. In our central scenario, the economy sinks deeper into recession (–6.4 percent) and suffers triple-digit inflation (124.9 percent). Personal consumption slips by 4.2 percent. The current account balance turns negative (–$6....

Election Year Is Coming Up
VENEZUELA · Report · 18 Dec 2014

We’re coming up on an election year. National Assembly elections are due in September 2015 but may be brought forward or pushed back by a few months. With oil revenue and public support plunging, the government will have a hard time maintaining its majority. On the other hand, it’s poised to stre...

The U.S. – Cuba Agreement
VENEZUELA · Report · 18 Dec 2014

The U.S.-Cuba agreement reconfigures hemispheric relations. It integrates Cuba to world markets and rebuilds the relationship between the U.S. and the rest of Latin America. Hemispheric relationships move closer to a relationship between peers and weaken the image of the U.S. as a colonial threat...

Inflation Accelerates To 6.5% In November
VENEZUELA · Report · 17 Dec 2014

In the absence of BCV inflation data, we continue analyzing inflation using the food basket data published by the Center for Documentation and Social Analysis of the Venezuelan Federation of Teachers (Cendas).We estimate that the month-on-month National CPI inflation rate accelerated to 6.5 perce...

A Word Worth $20 Billion
VENEZUELA · Report · 11 Dec 2014

The recent reform of the BCV Law allows the Board of the Bank to include about $20 billion in assets booked as Various Foreign Exchange Assets since July 2014. The Bank has not disclosed details on these assets. Our sources report that this account contains two structured notes written by foreign...

Central Bank Law Reform
VENEZUELA · Report · 09 Dec 2014

The BCV Law reform decreed by President Maduro under the aegis of the Enabling Law (Official Gazette No. 6156 Extraordinary, 19 November 2014) is a step back in terms of foreign reserve management and transparency.Article 31 hints that the flow of macroeconomic and financial data published by the...

Pdvsa Bond
VENEZUELA · In Brief · 03 Dec 2014

Last week, the National Superintendency of Securities (SNV) posted on its website that on October 22 Pdvsa was authorized to issue $3 billion in foreign currency bonds by way of a private placement. No further details were disclosed. This approval occurred six days ahead of the Pdvsa 2014 $3 bill...

The new FX law
VENEZUELA · In Brief · 01 Dec 2014

The new FX Law was approved by President Maduro on November 13, published in the Official Gazette No. 6150 Extraordinary on November 18, and known to the public on November 28. It repeals the law passed last February (Official Gazette No. 6.126 Extraordinary, 19 February 2014). In our view, the l...

Will Venezuela Honor Its Debt?
VENEZUELA · Report · 28 Nov 2014

Executive Summary As oil prices continue to slip and an election year approaches, two questions are on everyone’s mind. First, will the government shift its adjustment strategy from one of attrition (import cuts; price, production, and trade controls; harsh punishments; and loose fiscal and monet...

Pure Populism
VENEZUELA · Report · 26 Nov 2014

Executive Summary With nationwide mayoral elections weeks away, the government has stepped up its “economic war” against what it calls greedy capitalists, ordering firms to sell products at steep discounts and blaming the private sector for inflation and shortages. President Maduro has vowed to u...

Gasoline price hike on the horizon, again
VENEZUELA · In Brief · 14 Nov 2014 · 4 responses

President Maduro seems to be paving the way towards a gasoline price hike. In his November 13 speech announcing three bills aimed at promoting the communes and supporting the misiones, Maduro placed the topic on the public agenda. He said the price will rise in the right moment (“in the remainder...

Inflation rises to 70 percent in October
VENEZUELA · Report · 14 Nov 2014

In the absence of BCV inflation data, we continue analyzing inflation using the food basket data published by the Center for Documentation and Social Analysis of the Venezuelan Federation of Teachers (Cendas).We estimate that the month-on-month National CPI inflation accelerated to 6.3 percent in...

Minimum wage increase: 15%
VENEZUELA · In Brief · 05 Nov 2014

On November 3, President Nicolas Maduro decreed a 15 percent increase in the minimum wage effective December 1, 2014, within the range we predicted. He also raised the basis for calculating the food bonus to 75 percent of the Tax Unit (UT) from 50 percent, and announced an adjustment in the publi...