Venezuela Ogles Chavez’s Hidden Billions as Reserves Sink

Venezuela’s dollar-denominated bonds are trouncing the returns of the riskiest emerging-market borrowers as the government moves to gain greater control of $25 billion held at state-run companies.

Notes from South America’s largest oil exporter have returned 1.63 percent since the government published rules July 29 that require state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA and other public institutions to report dollar holdings to the central bank and obtain authorization to keep them. That compares with a 0.36 percent average gain for speculative-grade notes from 37 developing nations tracked by JPMorgan Chase & Co.