The decision taken by President Hugo Chávez’s administration to suspend trading in Venezuela’s black market ‘parallel’ rate marks a step closer to Zimbabwe-style hyperinflation and domestic economic ruin. To-date the government has avoided paying the cost of its rampant spending spree and erosion of productive capacity thanks to robust global oil prices, but even without… [Read more]

Is there any country in the world that is going to do better in 2009 than in 2008, as measured by real GDP growth? I think so. In fact, I think there’s a country that could have its strongest growth number in a decade, despite the global economic crisis. It’s called Zimbabwe. Granted, the bar… [Read more]

Venezuela’s headline consumer price inflation edged down for a fourth consecutive month in January, falling to 30.7% y-o-y from its peak of 36.0% y-o-y in September. Despite the decline, Venezuela’s inflation outlook remains grim. In fact, since the headline rate hit its peak, the month-on-month inflation figures have actually pushed higher. In short, don’t be… [Read more]

Today marks the 14th anniversary of the death of North Korea’s late ‘Great Leader’, Kim Il Sung, who ruled for almost 50 years. What is most remarkable is that his son and chosen successor, Kim Jong Il, still leads the country, and for that matter, the country still exists. When Kim Sr died, most people… [Read more]