15 May 2010

VENEZUELA: Police Raid Money Changers.

REUTERS/     Four money-changing businesses were raided and one arrested in a crackdown on what President Hugo Chavez calls capitalist speculation  that distorts the currency market. The businesses were illegally selling USD in violation of currency exchange rules. The raids came after Chavez recently promised action to stop unregulated foreign exchanges. The Bolivar had weakened about 25% this year...to more than 8.0 per USD...while the two official rates were 4.3 and 2.6 for essential items.