The cigarette vendors jog up and down the sidewalks and weave in and out of traffic, yelling out their wares. They sell a lot of brands you’ve never heard of on El Comercio, which has for years been cheap-tobacco heaven. But these days, not every patron is here for the smokes. The serious side-business on El Comercio is changing money—U.S. dollars for bolivars, the country’s ridiculously hyper-inflated currency. By Alex Vasquez. Full Text -> Bloomberg

Urdaneta paints the picture of an economy susceptible to abuse: “This is amplified when you have individuals with privileged information on when these bolivar payments will be done and when there will be a peak in dollar demand, so they strategically diminish the dollars offered at the right time. The result is a savage spike on the dollar price. Whenever these spikes happen, the market eventually reestablishes itself after the possibility of pushing buyers disappears. It’s a cycle that repeats itself again and again.” By Victor Cuotto. Full Text -> CaracasChronicles

Venezuela’s black market for dollars skyrocketed after the government doled out more than 50 billion in bolivar Christmas bonuses and pension payments — and most rushed to trade them for dollars. By Patricia Laya and Nicolle Yapur. Full Text -> Reuters

Venezuela’s central bank has ordered local banks to sell dollars received through gasoline sales to the government’s foreign-exchange system to boost supply of hard currency to the cash-strapped economy, three sources familiar with the requests said. By Mayela Armas, Corina Pons, Sarah Kinosian. Full Text -> Regina Leader-Post