There are plenty of
reasons why BlueBay Asset Management LLP cut its holding in Venezuelan bonds,
from the empty shelves in the supermarkets of Caracas to a nationwide dearth of
spare auto parts. But few were more compelling than the satellite photograph of
Puerto Cabello on the Caribbean coast, home to the country’s biggest port,
which shows a once-vibrant terminal bereft of vessels. “If you can see a
country’s economic decline from space, you know it’s in big trouble,” said
Graham Stock, the head of emerging-market sovereign research in London at
BlueBay, which reduced its holdings of the nation’s debt to below-benchmark
levels. He estimates Venezuela’s imports have declined by as much as 50 percent
in the last two years. More…
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