– Deepening Crisis In Hyper-inflationary Venezuela and Zimbabwe

– Real inflation in Zimbabwe is 313 percent annually and 112 percent on a monthly basis

– Venezuela’s new 100,000-bolivar note is worth less oday thehan USD 2.50

– Maduro announces plans to eliminate all physical cash

– Gold rises in response to ongoing crises

A military coup-de-grace in Zimbabwe and a bankrupt Venezuela. Both countries have extreme hyperinflation, citizens are starving and basic medical treatment is near impossible to find. These are the real world problems 47.5 million people are currently facing.

Presidents Robert Mugabe and Nicolas Maduro both deny the crises in their respective countries. For Maduro it is the media propagating false truths. In Zimbabwe the response to hyperinflation has been to declare it illegal.

Both countries are in the media spotlight after a significant week that has left one man powerless and another scrambling to restore faith in his bankrupt country.

Each country’s mess is thanks to mismanagement of resources and the central banking system. Citizens have had their rights almost decimated as the cash in the bank is worth increasingly less and fewer people are receiving income. Basic goods and services are near impossible to come by, with little sign of let-up.

The hyperinflation and economic situations in both the Latin American and south African country are a reminder of the damage caused by governments. Both Maduro and Mugabe have acted under the premise of serving the electorate. Citizens as a result have only suffered and seen their wealth diminish on a daily basis.

Both countries may seem a million miles away from the West in terms of political situation and cultures. However there is a strong lesson to be learnt. Savers should learn the need to protect their earnings and wealth from the manipulative decisions of governments and destructive monetary policies.

Zimbabwe: The tyranny of a despot and his central bank 

“Zimbabwe, welcome back to the record books! You have once again entered the inglorious world of hyperinflation. It is a world of economic chaos, wrenching poverty and death,” 

– Steve Hanke, economics professor at Johns Hopkins University

Annual inflation Zimbabwe

 We all recall the hyperinflation event of 2008 when Zimbabwe suffered the second most severe episode of hyperinflation in recorded history. Zimbabwe’s annual inflation rate reached 89.7 sextillion (10^23) percent.  In response Mugabe and his cronies replaced the Zimbabwean currency with the US currency.

Now Zimbabwe is undergoing a fresh currency crisis as well as a coup-de-grace. It is facing shortages of the US dollar and banks are being forced to ration withdrawals. The bond notes, issued to make up the shortfall, have dropped sharply in value on black market exchanges. The end result is inflation in retail stores and foreign suppliers refusing to accept the made-up-money.

Today the country is thought to be heading back towards 2008, once again. Steve Hanke, economics professor at Johns Hopkins University has calculated that as of 25 October this year the monthly rate of inflation is 77% and the annual rate is 348%. The official the official, dollar-denominated rate is 0.38%. This is hyperinflation and not something you can just outlaw or ignore.

As a result citizens are suffering and the government is unable to meet basic requirements. The central bank has previously said Zimbabwe had a backlog of more than $500 million in pending foreign payments. This is for n