www.waff.com

So are rising gasoline prices putting your household budget in the tank? Gas station visits are getting costlier by the day.

News flash: gas prices are going up...  "It's about 25 cents more than I'm used to paying."

from Los Angeles... To New Jersey... "Theyr'e outta control."

From St. Louis to Tennessee you're forking over more at the pump and most drivers say they can't figure out why.

"It always has something to do with what's going on in the Middle East. You know what's goin on...same stuff that's been going on for the last...ten years."

Gas prices have increased 8% since the start of the year.

According to AAA the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is now a buck fifty five for regular.

The cheapest gas is in Georgia, as low as $1.42.  And on the high end, taking out Alaska and Hawaii, where gasoline is always more expensive in New York gas can be as high as $1.81, $1.82 in Connecticut, $1.88 in California. Though we found it just a hair shy of two bucks.

"One of the reasons is that the Venezuelan situation really impacted ... our supplies."

The strike in Venezuela is over and exports will now increase...yet there are other issues as well... for some reason demand, which is usually down this time of year... is up...

Bill O'Grady with A.G. Edwards said, "Now we don't know if that means more consumers are driving or we're starting to see gasoline horded throughout the rest of the distribution system."

Demand has increased at the same time refineries are seasonally offline for maintenance, cutting production. But that doesn't really matter because crude inventories are especially tight.

Of course, the fear of war with Iraq is hanging over everything.

During the last war with Iraq Mark Mahoney says crude shot up to $40 a barrel.

That changed once it became clear the U.S. would quickly win. But Bill O'Grady says if we go to war again, there are other variables to worry about. 

"Like Iraq torches it's own oil wells like Iraq is somehow successful in hurting production in the other gulf countries, like we go to test the strategic petroleum reserve and we find out it doesn't quite work as well as we thought it would."

All these factors, the fear of war, low inventories, less output from refineries, unusually high demand: all happening as we head into the time of year when gas prices start to rise anyhow for the spring and summer vacations. 

"We were planning on going on vacation in July...going to drive down to Virginia...but we're not gonna do that."

"We really have the perfect storm of influences."

"Now what I do now is I go buy half tanks, instead of a whole tank I get a half a tank...don't feel so bad."

www.latimes.com By Chris Kraul, Times Staff Writer

Venezuela's price and currency controls may not prevent further job losses and possible debt default -- fallout from the general strike.

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Their oil-based economy on the brink of collapse, Venezuelans braced for tougher times Thursday as the government imposed a risky system of price and currency controls. Most economists here say the controls offer little hope of staving off what's shaping up as a disastrous year for the Venezuelan economy, one they say could include hundreds of thousands of jobs lost, double-digit inflation and a possible default on $19 billion in foreign debt.             The economic crash is the fallout from a two-month general strike, just now ending, by opponents of President Hugo Chavez. Led by 35,000 workers of the state-owned oil company, the stoppage failed to drive Chavez from office but paralyzed the economy and cut Venezuela's crude oil production to a fraction of its normal level of 3.2 million barrels a day. Economists in Venezuela and on Wall Street are predicting that the nation's economy could shrink 8% to 22% this year, depending on how much of its oil production it can recover and how fast. Oil production and its indirect benefits account for roughly 40% of economic output. "We are seeing a social tragedy in the making," said economist Orlando Ochoa, who predicts that between 500,000 and 1 million jobs will be lost this year. Only war-torn or bankrupt economies like those of Bosnia-Herzegovina or Zimbabwe have had economic contraction as severe as what's in store for Venezuela this year, he said. Chavez announced the currency and price controls late Wednesday night, two weeks after he shut down foreign exchange altogether. He acted after about $9 billion in foreign currency left the country in the 13 months ended in mid-January, a seepage that was accelerating. The latest controls, the nation's third round of such policies since 1983, set a fixed value of 1,600 bolivars per dollar and limit prices for a group of essential goods. Although the controls may stop the outflow of dollars, they are expected to lead to higher inflation and a black market for scarce goods. The drop in oil revenue means the federal government may have a $9-billion budget deficit, one reason that U.S. debt rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded Venezuelan debt to CCC+ in December, a sign that default in the near future is a strong possibility. "It's the worst rating we've given among the 92 governments we rate except Argentina, [which] is in default," said S&P's John Chambers. The dramatic drop in production has already plunged the economy into recession -- it shrank 7.5% in 2002 -- and nearly everyone here is feeling it. "We've never seen a recession like this," says Inaki Alverdi, general manager of the Alpitour tourist agency in Caracas, the capital. "If business only drops by 40% this year compared with last year, then that will be good. All of our customers booked for January, February and March have canceled. Nobody is traveling." Venezuela's economic problems didn't start with Chavez. In fact, Ochoa said per-capita income for Venezuelans dropped 25% over the 20 years before Chavez took power in 1999, a symptom of the corruption and inefficiency Chavez promised to fix during his presidential campaign. But Chavez has proved unwilling or unable to develop a consensus among rival factions, especially since April, when a coup briefly unseated him. An example of his tactics are the legal proceedings he recently opened against four local television stations for allegedly misusing the airwaves. It was seen as a move to muzzle his critics. "Venezuela is a catastrophe. You have the public sector in a major fiscal crunch, consumers hit by steep rises in unemployment and ongoing political uncertainty. Who is going to invest in this environment?" said Michael Gavin, an economist at UBS Warburg in Stamford, Conn. The exchange rate for the bolivar set by the new currency regime is considerably lower than its last close of 1,853 to the dollar on the free market, and far from its black market value, which is about 2,500 per dollar. Chavez also handpicked a five-member Currency Administration Commission to be in charge of distributing dollars among companies and individuals. Businesses say the government's exchange panel will have discretionary powers that will favor friends of the government and penalize the opposition. "Not one single dollar to the coup plotters," said Chavez as he announced the controls Wednesday. Apart from staple goods, price controls will also be imposed on medicines and house rents, to prevent exaggerated increases. Sources familiar with the state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, say the company will be slow to regain its pre-strike production levels for several reasons. The thousands of wells that shut down once the strike started must be redrilled or reworked, which will take money the government doesn't have. Second, 880 technical workers who are best qualified to restart production were fired this week by Chavez for having gone on strike. Another discouraging note for Venezuela's economy is that the divisions separating followers of the president and his opposition seem to widen by the day. Efforts by the Organization of American States, the so-called Group of Friends multinational mediators and ex-U.S. President Jimmy Carter to broker an accord are going nowhere. Government and opposition forces made a series of preliminary goodwill agreements, including pledges of mutual respect, rejecting violence, and a plan to disarm the population, but failed to discuss an electoral way out until Carter put two proposals on the table last month . The first of these, to cut Chavez's term from six to four years by a constitutional amendment, is favored by the opposition. But the government has said it will discuss only the other option, that of a referendum on Chavez's presidency in August, or halfway through his term. The Group of Friends -- the United States, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Spain and Portugal -- got into the act in late January by offering their full backing to OAS director Cesar Gaviria's effort. He remains in the capacity of a mediator, unable to strongly advocate for solutions himself. On Wednesday, Gaviria offered little hope of a short-term solution. "People have every right to be skeptical about the results at the negotiating table because we don't know if we are going to find an agreement," he said. "I would be skeptical, because we have worked several weeks and not made a pact. I can't say with all clarity that there is enough political will to come to an agreement."

www.chicagotribune.com By Chris Kraul Tribune Newspapers: Los Angeles Times Published February 7, 2003

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Their oil-based economy on the brink of collapse, Venezuelans braced for tougher times Thursday as the government imposed a risky system of price and currency controls. Most economists say the controls offer little hope of staving off what is shaping up as a disastrous year for the nation's economy, one they say could include hundreds of thousands of lost jobs, double-digit inflation and a possible default later this year on $19 billion in foreign debt. President Hugo Chavez announced the currency and price controls late Wednesday, two weeks after he shut down the foreign exchange. He acted after about $9 billion in foreign currency left the country in the 13 months that ended in mid-January. The latest controls are the third time Venezuela has taken such action since 1983. They set a fixed value of 1,600 bolivars for each dollar and limit prices for a group of essential goods. Although the restraints may stop the outflow of dollars, they are expected to cause higher inflation and a black market for scarce goods. The drop in the nation's oil revenue during the national strike, starting Dec. 2, means the government may have a $9 billion deficit, one of the reasons that debt rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded Venezuelan debt to CCC+ in December. The exchange rate for the bolivar set by the new currency control is considerably higher than its last close of 1,853 to the dollar on the free market, and a long way short of the black-market value, which is about 2,500 bolivars to a dollar. Chavez also chose a five-member Currency Administration Commission to oversee the distribution of dollars among private businesses and individuals. Businesses say the exchange commission will have discretionary powers that will favor political allies and penalize the opposition.

VOA News 07 Feb 2003, 18:10 UTC

A Nazi-hunting organization has called on Venezuela to take legal action against an Estonian accused of war crimes during World War II.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem says Venezuela should press charges against Harry Mannil or expel him. Mr. Mannil, now a Venezuelan citizen and businessman, was a member of a police unit in Nazi-occupied Estonia during the war.

Mr. Mannil was in Costa Rica earlier this week when authorities there told him he must leave and not return, citing his Nazi involvement.

Mr. Mannil has not commented, but the Associated Press reports he has said in the past that he never took part in war crimes against Estonian Jews.

www.sun-sentinel.com By CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER Associated Press Posted February 8 2003

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Huge lines reappeared at service stations in Venezuela's capital Friday while thousands of workers continued their strike in the nation's huge oil industry.

President Hugo Chavez, who is the target of the ongoing strikes in an effort to force him from power, contends that oil production is returning to normal. The gas lines stretched for blocks, adding hours to a task that had taken 20 minutes at most earlier in the week. The drivers were waiting on pumps to be replenished. But deliveries are sporadic because of the country's 2-month-old oil strike, which has caused severe shortages and forced this oil-rich country to import gasoline.

There is no gasoline in Caracas,'' complained taxi driver Manuel Briceno, driving past one line. And Chavez and his government keep insisting things are normal.''

Thousands of oil workers have walked off the job, initially accompanied by hundreds of thousands of Chavez foes in other industries. The latter returned to work earlier this week but the protest continues at the state oil monopoly.

The government has had only limited success in keeping oil flowing. Two of the country's three major refineries remain mostly idle.

Venezuela _ the world's fifth largest oil exporter _ has spent more than $500 million importing gasoline during the strike. The government claims crude oil output is 1.9 million barrels a day. Strikers put the figure at 1.3 million. Before the strike, it was 3 million.

International oil analysts have warned Venezuela could be forced to import gasoline and export most of its crude oil production for months.

On Thursday, Chavez froze the country's exchange rate at 1,596 bolivars to the dollar for sales and 1,600 for purchases, claiming he thwarted another plot against him _ this time, a conspiracy to bleed Venezuela of its foreign reserves.

The fixed rate took effect two weeks after the bolivar's value plunged to record lows and dollar sales were suspended. Chavez blamed the strike for scaring away foreign investors.

They wanted to take it all and bring it abroad. They wanted to leave us dry,'' Chavez said. They wanted to leave us without dollars, so we took away the key.''

The opposition did not immediately respond to the claim, but several business leaders warned the new policy will fuel corruption and inflation, strangle investment and push the nation's fragile economy closer to collapse.

They also claimed Chavez will use the controls to punish strike leaders.

A commission appointed by Chavez and the Central Bank will decide who can buy dollars.

``This lends itself to any type of witch hunt,'' said Antonio Herrera, vice president of the Venezuelan American Chamber of Commerce.

The bolivar has lost 25 percent of its value this year. Inflation topped 30 percent and foreign reserves dropped by $2 billion to about $11 billion. The bolivar closed at 1,853 to the dollar on Jan. 21, the last day of trading, but sold for 2,500 on the black market.

Dollar requests could take as long as 45 days to process under the new rules. That could force many businesses to buy black market dollars at higher prices, leading to higher inflation and corruption, analysts said.

Venezuela imports 60 percent of its raw materials and most of its food.

This will force me to cut costs by laying off workers,'' said Luis Herrera, owner of a fast food restaurant. I expect sales to drop by at least 30 percent.''