CARACAS, Venezuela (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela will allow foreign companies to exchange dollars for 2.6 bolivars apiece, lower than the 4.3-bolivar rate applied for non-essential items, a former planning minister said. Venezuela devalued its currency a month ago, from 2.15 to a dual rate of 2.6 and 4.3 bolivars to the dollar. read more...

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RACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- President Hugo Chavez inaugurated a folksy new radio talk-show on Monday by declaring an "electricity emergency" in oil-rich Venezuela. Despite its huge crude reserves, the South American OPEC member relies on hydro-electricity for 70 percent of its power needs. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela’s National Securities Commission has closed six investment units of seized bank Banco Canarias Banco Universal CA and shuttered brokerage U21 Casa de Bolsa CA. The government halted operations at the six units on December 30. read more...

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MADRID, Spain (AFP) -- Spain's Telefonica said Friday its 2009 net profits will be diminished by 548 million euros due to Venezuela's rising inflation, the devaluation of the bolivar and other factors in the country. But the telecommunications group said the loss would be offset by fiscal gains of 591 million euros. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) -- Cuba is helping Venezuela to face difficulties in the electricity sector, a support that was acknowledged by Ali Rodriguez, Ministry of Energy of the the South American country. During his appearance in the Contragolpe (Counterattack) television program broadcast by Venezolana de Televisión... read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez's naming of a heavyweight Cuban official to help fix Venezuela's electricity crisis has fired up his opponents at a politically volatile time for the South American nation. Power rationing since late 2009 has emerged as a major problem for the OPEC member nation. read more...

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BRASILIA, Brasil (AFP) -- The United States fired a warning to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Thursday, telling him to not repress his people and to accept dialogue in his moment of "crisis." "Our message to the government of Venezuela would be: 'Do not repress, rather give room to your own...  read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Venezuelan steelmaker Sidor's January output fell 61 percent year-on-year due to energy rationing, a local newspaper reported on Thursday, following last year's closure of some its facilities to save power. A prolonged drought has crippled the OPEC nation's hydroelectric dams. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) -- Cuba bought 360 tons of rice worth 108 thousand sucres from Venezuela, which is the first commercial operation with the virtual currency created by the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA). The transaction took place at the headquarters of the Central Bank of Venezuela. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela cut electricity consumption last month after President Hugo Chavez ordered homes, businesses and government offices to save power as water levels plunged at hydroelectric dams. Water levels are less than half the capacity at the Guri Dam. read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA (Reuters) The Organization of American States' human rights body on Tuesday called on Venezuela to investigate "improper use of force" during clashes that left two dead after the suspension of an anti-government TV station. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights expressed... read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Venezuela on Tuesday decreed a reduction in mandatory bank contributions to the government's deposit insurance fund in the wake of a minor bank crisis that led to state takeovers of 11 small financial institutions. Private banks will now contribute 0.75 percent of their total deposits. read more...

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MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) -- Russia and Venezuela will invest $20 billion over 40 years in a giant Venezuelan oilfield to produce almost half a million barrels per day of oil that can be shipped to US markets, Russian officials said. The deal heralds close political and economic cooperation. read more...

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CARACAS, Caracas(Reuters) -- A fire on Monday caused a brief interruption in the functioning of Venezuela's 200,000 barrel per day Petro Cedeno oil upgrader in the Orinoco heavy crude region, an official said, adding that output was not affected. "There was a leak which produced a fire,"... read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Relaxed on a bench on a placid, sunbathed university campus, student Roderick Navarro hardly looks a menace to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. But the 22-year-old languages student has emerged this year as one of the most visible faces of a protest movement. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela set new capital, debt and equity requirements for the brokerage industry in the first reforms after the seizure of 11 banks and securities firms. Brokerages will be required to sell investment instruments, known as “mutuos,” within 90 days. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Bloomberg) -- Gruma SAB, Mexico’s largest maker of corn flour for tortillas, fell to a three-week low after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Thursday his government will seize one of the company’s local units, Molinos Nacionales CA, the maker of Robin Hood flour. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that he thanked God Friday morning for a light rain in the capital, Caracas, and prayed for more as the worst drought in 50 years leads to electricity rationing. The government has ordered rolling blackouts to prevent a collapse of the grid. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Venezuela received two bids in the Carabobo auction of three projects in its vast Orinoco heavy crude belt, President Hugo Chavez said on Friday. "Yesterday in fact, two offers were received, two were received for three projects," Chavez said during a speech to students. read more...

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OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) -- Canada decried Venezuela's decision over the weekend to yank six cable TV stations off the air, saying the move was "evidence of a shrinking democratic space" in the South American country. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Peter Kent also regretted the deaths of two students. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Venezuelan police used tear gas to disperse students protesting chronic electricity shortages as leftist President Hugo Chavez faced growing complaints over deteriorating public services. Local media reported two students and one police officer were injured. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Venezuela has received bids for all three projects in the Carabobo bidding round in the Orinoco heavy oil belt, sources said on Thursday, with major oil companies Chevron and Repsol among the bidders. The government of leftist Hugo Chavez has drawn interest across the oil industry. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned on Wednesday that he may quicken his drive to build a socialist state, as he shuffled his cabinet amid opposition demonstrations sparked by closure of a television station. The leftist leader is already facing a tough start to 2010. read more...

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On January 8, Venezuelan President Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías announced the devaluation of the Bolivarian Republic’s currency, the bolivar. In his address, Chávez distinguished between two classes of products, establishing separate exchange rates for “essential” and “non-essential” goods. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Venezuela has sent France a protest note over criticisms of last week's move to push an opposition station off subscription television networks, President Hugo Chavez said on Tuesday. "I had to approve a protest note for the government France, and it makes me sad," Chavez said. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Police used tear gas to disperse thousands of students who marched in Venezuelan cities on Monday to protest the government's widely criticized suspension of a TV station opposed to President Hugo Chavez. Students marched with their hands painted white. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Venezuela's Vice President Ramon Carrizalez, who was also defence minister, resigned on Monday citing personal reasons, adding to the political problems facing leftist President Hugo Chavez. Chavez is facing growing discontent over shortages of electricity and water. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday that American relief efforts in Haiti had fallen short and told US President Barack Obama to "send vaccinations, kid," instead of armed soldiers. "Obama, send vaccinations, kid, send vaccinations," Chavez said. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- The total debt of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA jumped 42 percent in 2009, the company said late on Friday, after it borrowed heavily to pay off service company debts and intervene in currency markets. PDVSA said in a statement that total outstanding debt rose to $21.4 billion. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Thousands of Venezuelans marched for and against President Hugo Chavez on Saturday amid political and economic tensions fueled by a currency devaluation and shortages of water and power. The marches were the first since Chavez sharply devalued the bolivar currency. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Venezuelan cable providers, responding to government orders, stopped showing a station on Sunday critical of President Hugo Chavez that the left-wing leader pushed off free-access television in 2007. Chavez in 2007 denied RCTV a renewal of its broadcast license. read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA (Reuters) -- Venezuela's Orinoco oil region contains about 513 billion barrels of crude that could technically be recovered by energy companies if cost were not an issue, a new US government report said. It is the largest crude oil resource assessment ever done by the US Geological Survey. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Sales of gasoline and diesel powered electricity generators are skyrocketing as failures in the national grid leave swathes of Venezuela in the dark, threatening to further depress exports from OPEC nation. A further drop in fuel exports could slow the country's recovery. read more...

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RIO CARIBE, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Powering through Caribbean swell in a heavy gray patrol boat and toting new Kalashnikov guns, soldiers scouring the craggy coves of Paria peninsula for cocaine smugglers look like they mean business. Yet the five Venezuelan National Guard soldiers are outnumbered. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan Trade Minister Eduardo Saman said the government began to expropriate six Hipermercado Exito stores Tuesday after President Hugo Chavez said the French- Colombian owned retailer broke the law by raising prices. The government plans to convert the retailers... read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela’s inflation rate will surge to a 14-year high this year as a currency devaluation drives up the cost of imports, according to Morgan Stanley. President Hugo Chavez devalued the official exchange rate as much as 50 percent, setting a level of 2.6 for imports of “essential” items. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Some 12 oil companies have confirmed interest in Venezuela's auction of its vast Carabobo oil field, with at least four consortiums formed, sources close to the process said. Total, Chevron, Mitsubishi, Inpex, Jogmec, Suelopetrol and Repsol have all formed consortiums. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Venezuela on Monday took control of two small banks and a savings and loans company citing liquidity problems, the banking regulator said, the latest move in a clean up of troubled financial institutions. The government closed InverUnion Banco Comercial and Banco de Sol. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- A severe drought has forced Venezuela President Hugo Chavez to ration electricity in South America's top oil exporter, but underinvestment and shortsighted planning during an economic boom are as much to blame as the weather. Cities and villages are without light. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez on Sunday nationalized a chain of supermarkets controlled by France's Casino on charges of price gauging after the government devalued the bolivar currency. In 11 years Chavez has nationalized large swathes of the economy. read more...

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