Russia, Venezuela Hold Anarchy at Bay

As we scan the proverbial geopolitical horizon, there are two countries that stand out as high-risk targets for significant social unrest in the coming months. Not surprisingly, both are oil producers terrified at the sight of Brent crude falling below $50 per barrel on Monday.The first is Venezuela, where even the most optimistic of government-manufactured statistics should give observers a feeling of deep foreboding. Venezuela burns through its oil reserves at a dizzying rate of roughly $1 billion per month. Not only that, but the country is actually down to about $16.9 billion in total reserves, with only a fraction of that amount — estimated at less than $1 billion — held in liquid reserves. Given the country's heavy dependence on oil revenue, it hardly takes an expert statistician to see that Venezuela is in an untenable financial situation. More…