How Bad Is Venezuela's Economic Chaos?

Venezuela’s economy is slowly collapsing, crushed by the pressure of a falling oil prices and the accumulated weight of decades of mismanagement. Venezuela’s currency, the bolivar, is overvalued and artificially propped up by an arcane system of currency controls. The bolivar, like Venezuela’s economy, is trapped in a downward spiral. Within Venezuela the effects of the economic chaos are seen at the supermarket, where empty shelves are a constant reminder of the economic dysfunction that has come to define South America’s fifth largest economy. The economic distress is also felt on the balance sheets of dozens of major U.S. companies who hold sizable assets in Venezuela. More…