Venezuela risks turn political

"There has been so much focus on the cashflow analysis and default risk and perhaps insufficient focus on political risk," Siobhan Morden, head of Latin America strategy at Jefferies, wrote in a note to clients this week. "We cannot assume that the Maduro administration can politically survive through a protracted period of acute stagflation and widespread shortages." With oil prices expected to remain near multi-year lows - Goldman Sachs lowered its three-month forecast for Brent crude to US $42 a barrel from US $80 on Monday - financial pressures on the recession-hit country are mounting. More…