Sudden Plunge in #Venezuela Reserves Alarms Creditors @Business

BofA estimated Venezuela had $77bn of assets available for sale or securitization at the end of the first quarter, down from $81 billion in 2014.

Venezuela’s reserves are dwindling after the price of oil, which accounts for 95 percent of the nation’s export revenue, fell 44 percent in the past year. Traders now see a 44 percent chance the country will default in the next year, the highest in the world and up from 34 percent a month ago.

Facing an ever-worsening shortage of hard currency, President Nicolas Maduro has pulled an average of $65 million a day from central bank reserves since the end of March.

Read the whole article online on Bloomberg here:  The Sudden Plunge in Venezuela Dollar Reserves Alarms Creditors – Bloomberg Business

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#Ukraine: A crisis unfolds

Reserves: $20bn; Debt: $59.5bn, $35bn maturing before 2017

Franklin resources is willing to assume the risk: 

From Bloomberg, 

Franklin Boosted Ukraine Bet to $6 Billion as Selloff Began

Dec 4, 2013, 11:18:50 AM
Franklin Resources Inc.’s biggest funds ramped up their bet on Ukraine by more than $1.4 billion in the third quarter, adding to the asset manager’s status as the country’s largest international bondholder weeks before street protests deepened the worst rout in developing markets.
To read the entire article, go to http://bloom.bg/1hxAf4t

And more in this article on the search by Ukrainian officials for cash.

From Bloomberg, Ukraine Officials Scour Globe for Cash as Protests Build

Dec 4, 2013, 11:05:28 AM

Ukrainian officials are fanning out to Beijing, Moscow and Brussels to drum up economic backing as the largest protests in almost a decade persist back home over the failure to sign a European trade pact.
To read the entire article, go to http://bloom.bg/1eTO9Kz

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Moody’s downgrades Cyprus bonds

Another one "to bite the dust?"

Moody's decision to lower Cyprus' debt rating to just above junk status is the latest sign the island nation may become the fourth eurozone country heading towards a bail-out

Moody's downgrades Cyprus bonds
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By Peter Spiegel in Brussels
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The rating agency's decision is the latest sign the island nation may become the fourth eurozone country heading towards a bail-out

Read the full article at: http://on.ft.com/r3wlk1

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