Venezuelan Oil Too Big to Fail, at Least for China and Russia

Venezuela’s sudden demand to renegotiate its billions in debt could complicate life for its two biggest oil patrons, China and Russia. President Nicolas Maduro caught bondholders off guard on Thursday with a vow to wring debt relief from Venezuela’s creditors, sending the country’s bonds tumbling. But the move may also have been calculated to reassure the countries that are among Maduro’s biggest lenders, and the most vital customers of his nation’s crown-jewel oil industry. More…