Photo: Venezuela's S&P Rating Drops Amidst Concerns Over Chavez's Health and Country's "Arbitrary" Laws
Just days after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced he wanted all the country’s money removed from U.S. markets and repatriate nearly $11 billion in gold currently in Swiss and English banks, Standard and Poor’s have lowered Venezuela’s credit rating..
For the first time since 2006, the country’s S&P credit rating has dropped Friday. It was lowered a full level from BB- to B+ which Bloomberg noted is four steps below investment grade.
The reasoning given for the grade reduction was Chavez’s “arbitrary laws” and his questionable health. Chavez has been traveling to and from Cuba to undergo cancer treatment.
“In our opinion, changing and arbitrary laws, price and exchange controls, and other distorting and unpredictable economic measures have undermined private-sector investment and hurt productivity, weakening Venezuela’s domestic economy,” a S&P analyst wrote.
