Nearly eight months after the United States' military intervention in Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro, the country remains by a considerable margin the most dangerous place in the world for investors, according to J.P. Morgan's Emerging Markets Bond Index, or EMBI.
Venezuela's country-risk spread stood at 7,098 basis points in July, a level that placed it far above other distressed sovereigns, including Ukraine and Argentina. The figure means investors demand a premium of roughly 70.98 percentage points above comparable U.S. Treasury bonds to hold Venezuelan debt, a market signal of extraordinary concern over repayment, political stability and the rule of law.
