Venezuelan security forces have arrested more than 300 people, including members of the opposition Popular Will and Justice First parties, in protests sparked by the elimination of the country's most popular currency, the 100
bolivar note, before new notes were ready, President Nicolas Maduro said Sunday.
Venezuela's government informed airlines that airfares starting in July will be based on a weaker SICAD II rate of about 50
bolivars per dollar compared with the official rate of 6.
3
bolivars, to lure foreign companies to invest more in the nation.
While choking off imports of everything from newsprint to food, medicine and spare parts, the move has strengthened foreign exchange reserves--a key government goal to protect the
bolivar.
Yet it is still considerably more stable than the Venezuelan
bolivar, which lost two-thirds of its value against the dollar on the black market in November, its biggest ever monthly decline, according to data from DolarToday, which tracks the black-market rate.
The government set the maximum price of white cheese at 400
bolivars per kilo.
In order to offer its more conservative clients a new alternative in Mutual Funds, Merinvest launched the "Balanced Investment Portfolio" which contains a mix of fixed income securities in
bolivars and dollars and variable income securities in
bolivars.
As revenue from oil exports drops, the local currency, the
bolivar, has also plummeted in the black market.
The proposed IMF agreement and the devaluation of the
bolivar are part of the government's aggressive program to address macroeconomic issues, reduce debt and stimulate direct foreign investment in Venezuela.
Venezuela's
bolivar fell to a six- month low as the central bank's almost month-long absence from the unregulated currency market left the supply of dollars short of demand, reports Bloomberg (March 3, 2010).
