VENEZUELA: Chavez Devalues "Strong Bolivar."

Reuters/
Venezuelans rushed to stock-up on imported goods after President Hugo Chávez imposed a new exchange rate on imported items from cars to construction materials of 4.30 strong bolívars to the dollar, a 100% devaluation from the previous rate of 2.15 and the first devaluation since 2005. "It was a Black Friday, tinted red," said sales executive Diana Sevillana in a line of 30 people outside an electrical goods store.
A second rate of 2.6 bolívars per dollar applies only for essentials like basic foods and hospital equipment.
The devaluation will send inflation higher, making imported goods more expensive and encouraging arbitrage. In 2009, Venezuela had Latin America’s highest inflation rate of 25%.