www.forbes.com Reuters, 01.27.03, 9:13 PM ET

CARACAS, Venezuela, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Venezuela's Finance Minister said on Monday that the government had extended its suspension of foreign exchange trading until Feb. 5 as it studies how to implement currency curbs to counter an eight-week opposition strike.

"The suspension that was scheduled to be lifted Wednesday will be prolonged one week precisely so we can fine tune this process, until Wednesday, Feb. 5," Tobias Nobrega told local television in an interview.

Venezuela's government, whose vital oil income has been slashed by the strike against President Hugo Chavez, last week suspended currency trading for five days. The government said the measure was intended to halt the slide of the bolivar and slow capital flight.

The opposition strike, started on Dec. 2 to force Chavez to resign and call elections, has driven Venezuela's economy deeper into recession, sent the bolivar tumbling against the U.S. dollar and cut into the nation's international reserves.

new.stockwatch.com 2003-01-27 18:10 PT - Street Wire by Stockwatch Business Reporter

Letter writer Robert Bishop, perhaps more philosophical given the years that have passed since his strong support (and lavish coverage) of Crystallex International in 1997 and 1998, says he cannot go to an investor conference without getting a question about the one-time high-flying court case promotion.

"I wonder why," he said dryly.

Mr. Bishop recommended Crystallex International in August, 1997, at $5.60 largely on the basis of what he viewed as Crystallex's strong legal claim to mineral rights at the gold-rich Las Cristinas 4 and 6 concessions.

The stock peaked in March, 1998, at $11.85 intraday.

In June, 1998, Mr. Bishop expressed shock and dismay when the Venezuelan supreme court threw out Crystallex's administrative-based application, with the country's chief justice writing that the then-Vancouver-based junior not only had no case, but that it had no legal standing to bring forward a complaint in the first place.

Mr. Bishop's support for Crystallex extended to his June 10 Fax-Alert, issued just as the stock went into free fall from the $6 level to the $1 level, "A suitcase full of money can solve a lot of problems in a lot of countries around the world, and Venezuela certainly used to be, and in many respects, may still be on the list." He later said that his comment was not meant as a veiled reference to the courts having been bribed.

www.forbes.com Reuters, 01.27.03, 6:53 PM ET

CARACAS, Venezuela, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Venezuela's government, fighting a crippling opposition strike, will extend a suspension of foreign exchange trading for at least this week as the government finishes drawing up and implementing currency controls, government sources said Monday.

President Hugo Chavez's government, whose vital oil income has been slashed by the 57-day strike, last week suspended currency trading for five market days prior to introducing foreign exchange curbs. The government said the measure was intended to halt the slide of the bolivar and slow capital flight.

"The market will remain closed at least for all of this week because the implementation of currency control measures is very slow," one government source, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.

Another source said the government was studying various proposals on how to implement the measures. Officials were speaking with banks on what exchange rate would work under the new controls. The currency trading suspension could last until next Tuesday, Feb. 4, one of the sources said.

The opposition strike, started on Dec. 2 to force Chavez to resign and call elections, has driven Venezuela's economy deeper into recession and sent the bolivar tumbling against the U.S. dollar.

www.guardian.co.uk Monday January 27, 2003 11:20 PM

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - A two-month strike against President Hugo Chavez showed signs of waning Monday as oil production rose and opposition leaders said schools, restaurants and malls may reopen.

Crude oil output reached 966,000 barrels a day Monday according to striking executives at the state oil monopoly, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., or PDVSA. That amount is just under a third of Venezuela's prestrike production but well up from a low of 200,000 during the strike. Chavez claimed Sunday that daily production had surpassed 1 million barrels.

But the opposition said the strike in the oil industry, which provides half of government revenue, would continue despite government efforts to lift production.

Citing political unrest and economic turmoil, a coalition of business groups, labor unions and political parties launched the strike Dec. 2 to demand that Chavez resign or call early elections.

They began organizing a nonbinding referendum on Chavez's presidency. But Venezuela's Supreme Court last week postponed indefinitely the Feb. 2 vote, citing a technicality.

Instead, they now plan to collect signatures Feb. 2 on a petition demanding Chavez's term be cut to pave the way for new elections.

A petition - with 15 percent of Venezuela's 12 million voters - is necessary to amend the constitution, cutting Chavez's six-year term, due to run until 2007, to four.

Strike leaders, however, were concerned that frustration with long gas lines and shortages of basic goods could weaken their cause.

Julio Brazon, president of the Consecomercio business chamber that represents 450,000 businesses, said shopping malls and food and other franchises may be allowed to open part-time next week.

The National Association of Private Education, which represents 911 private schools, called assemblies this week to decide whether schools should open Feb. 3. School was supposed to start Jan. 7.

Chavez's government, meanwhile, was able to raise oil production to 966,000 barrels per day Monday, according to striking executives at the state oil monopoly.

The government claims most of the monopoly's 40,000 workers are back on the job. Strike leaders deny it and say the government has lifted production by focusing on newer oil fields, where crude is easier to extract.

The strike has cost Venezuela - the world's fifth-largest oil producer - at least $4 billion, according to government estimates.

The economy could contract by as much as 40 percent in the first quarter of 2003, the Santander Central Hispano investment bank has warned.

As the strike entered its ninth week, Chavez's government was preparing to impose currency exchange controls this week to limit the amount of foreign currencies Venezuelans can buy and stem a run on the bolivar, which has lost a quarter of its value this year.

With the apparent support of the armed forces, Chavez, a former paratroop commander who staged an unsuccessful coup bid in 1992, has fired almost 3,000 strikers from the oil monopoly, PDVSA.

He has sent soldiers to seize tankers piloted by striking crews and to confiscate soft drinks from two private bottling plants.

A waning strike could give Chavez more muscle in negotiations with the opposition sponsored by the Organization of American States. The main point of discussion is whether to hold early presidential elections.

Chavez was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000. A binding referendum on Chavez's presidency can be held only midway through his term, which would be in August.

The Caracas stock exchange resumed trading Monday for the first time since the strike began. It will open 2-1/2 hours each day to continue showing support for the strike, bourse officials said.

www.forbes.com Reuters, 01.27.03, 6:09 PM ET

CARACAS, Venezuela, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leaders on Monday extended for a 58th day a crippling strike in the fifth largest oil exporter aimed at forcing President Hugo Chavez to resign.

The strike, which began on Dec. 2, has slashed vital crude oil output and exports, driven up global energy prices and brought the OPEC member nation to the brink of economic collapse.

"Today more than ever, we remain committed to the fight for a free country," said Carlos Fernandez, a strike leader who also heads the national business chamber Fedecamaras.

Striking employees of state oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) say they will strike until Chavez resigns, calls elections and reinstates fired oil workers.

Some opposition leaders said shopping centers and food franchises could be allowed to reopen.

Chavez, a former paratrooper who was elected in 1998 and survived a coup, has refused to step down and sacked more than 3,000 PDVSA managers for abandoning their posts.

To deal with the devastating impact of the strike, he has prepared price controls, currency curbs and imposed a big cut in government spending.

The former paratrooper says he is defeating the strike using troops and replacement workers. Strikers dismiss his claims, but concede that oil production has crept up to about 30 percent of pre-strike levels.

Some blue-collar oil workers have also returned to work, but support for the strike remains strong among key PDVSA managers and skilled workers at oilfields, refineries and ports.

"The PDVSA we used to belong to no longer exists, so we don't have anywhere to go back to," said Orlando Perez, a striking employee at PDVSA subsidiary Intevep.

"The executive has dismembered the company, eliminating many of its functions," he added.