Venezuela Turns to Its Secretive Bag of Tricks to Avoid Default

In the wake of Goldman Sachs’s controversial purchase of $2.8 billion of bonds held in Venezuela’s vaults, investors have been trying to quickly figure out what other hidden assets the country might be sitting on. The stakes are high. As the central bank’s officially published foreign-reserve figure dwindles to just over $10 billion, that secretive stockpile might ultimately decide whether the nation averts default or not. Calculating the value of those securities, as you might expect, is tricky. Estimates range from $15.5 billion of assets that could be made liquid from perennial contrarian Francisco Rodriguez to as little as zero from Nomura Inc.’s Siobhan Morden. Barclays Plc landed in the middle, at about $10 billion. More…