It’s been a while since Guido’s global coverage caught up with how the loony Labour left’s favourite socialist paradise is getting on. Well, today Venezuela’s probability of defaulting on its debts has sky-rocketed to 93%, as the oil price slump sends the country’s bond prices to a 16 year low. The graph above from Zero Hedge shows how default risk has gone through the roof.

Venezuela's reserves (lowest in a decade) cover just 40% of debt due in the next five years

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) December 11, 2014

Bloomberg reports:

“Venezuela, which has seen over 1,000 of its companies nationalized since former President Hugo Chavez came to power 15 years ago, relies on oil for 95% of its export revenue. The nation is plagued by chronic shortages of everything from milk to toilet paper amid the world’s fastest inflation. The economy is expected to shrink 3% this year and another 1.5% in 2015.”

Owen Jones, Diane Abbott et al don’t tend to talk about Venezuela so much these days…