Inflation in Venezuela signals default impending

Venezuela is about to earn another ignominious distinction. Long home to the world's highest inflation rate, the country now is set to become the site of the 57th hyperinflation event in modern recorded history, says Steve Hanke, professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University. While the feat may be little more than a formality in a country where Hanke calculates annual cost-of-living increases already run at 772 percent, it's the latest sign a debt default may be closer than previously thought. More…