Venezuela is preparing to issue bank notes in higher denominations next year as rampant inflation reduces the value of a 100-bolivar bill to just 14 cents on the black market.
The new notes -- of 500 and possibly 1,000 bolivars -- are expected to be released sometime after congressional elections are held on Dec. 6…
Many Venezuelans have to carry wads of cash in bags instead of wallets as soaring inflation and a declining currency increase the number of bills needed for everyday purchases. The situation is set to get worse. Inflation, already the fastest in the world, could end the year at 150 percent, said the official.
The government stopped releasing regular economic statistics in December, when it reported inflation had reached 69 percent.
And in a recent PBS Newshour photo essay (where, sadly but predictably, they blame the problems entirely on falling oil prices and not at all on government policy), you can see the current state of attempts to government-manage an inflationary socialist economy.
Artificially low retail gas prices in Venezuela lead, naturally, to black marketeers buying low there and selling high in Colombia.
