Venezuela’s state oil company, ensnared in the political crisis gripping the country, is asking bond investors for a temporary waiver from financial reporting requirements because it can’t complete the documents on time, Bloomberg News reported. Petroleos de Venezuela asked trustee Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. for an extension to Aug. 11, at which point it expects to make the documents available, according to a letter dated July 31 that the bank sent to holders of notes due in 2020.

Investors have been bracing for a Venezuela debt default for more than a year, but fallout from the country’s widely criticized election last weekend could prove to be the tipping point, The Wall Street Journal reported. The government and state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela SA, also known as PdVSA, together owe $5 billion in principal and interest payments due between now and the end of the year, according to Caracas Capital Markets. The country has $725 million due this month alone, the Venezuelan investment bank said.

The specter of tighter U.S. sanctions is pushing up the perception that Venezuela is getting closer to defaulting on its bonds, Bloomberg News reported. Venezuela is awaiting possible further restrictions after the U.S., its largest trading partner, sanctioned President Nicolas Maduro after he held elections Sunday for a new assembly that will rewrite the constitution. U.S.

It seems everyone has a set of demands for what should happen to Venezuela. For the most part, from the streets of Caracas to the White House, these are loud but rather vague talking points. People in the bond market, though, have begun to put together a plan for reassembling the country’s economy and finances, the Financial Times reported. Of course it would be better if Venezuelans were able to agree their own coherent plan, but that is not happening right now.

More than 7 million Venezuelans went to the polls to vote against President Nicolas Maduro last weekend. But the more consequential opinion on Maduro's future may belong to China, Venezuela's biggest creditor and one of the few likely sources of funds needed to avert a possible default later this year, a Bloomberg View reported. The unofficial referendum, which was organized by the opposition, showed the depth of popular discontent with Maduro's plans to rewrite the constitution and enshrine himself in office. Turnout, at more than a third of registered voters, far exceeded expectations.

With political and social tension in Venezuela on the rise, investors should prepare for the “end game” by seeking out the country’s lowest-priced debt, according to Deutsche Bank AG. The cheapest bonds -- which generally carry longer maturities -- will provide the best return in a scenario under which Venezuela defaults and is forced to restructure, Hongtao Jiang, a strategist at the bank, wrote in a report. Jiang said while he doesn’t expect Venezuela to stop payments this year, it’s a possibility that bond buyers need to be prepared for, Bloomberg News reported.

Venezuela’s foreign reserves have dropped below $10bn for the first time in 15 years as chronic mismanagement, corruption and subdued oil prices continue to batter what used to be the wealthiest country in South America, the Financial Times reported. The reserves stood at $9.983bn, according to figures published on Friday from the central bank, representing a 77 per cent decrease since January 2009 when they hit a peak of $43bn. The fall comes at a time of heightened political tension.

The world’s riskiest credit got another jolt after S&P Global Ratings lowered Venezuela’s rating deeper into junk as the economy spirals down amid heightened political tension, Bloomberg News reported. S&P reduced the nation’s long-term foreign and local currency ratings to CCC-, or three notches below investment grade, from CCC on Tuesday. The New York-based company kept its negative outlook for Venezuela, signaling room for further downgrades. Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service also rank the country at speculative levels.

Venezuela’s state oil company, one of the most distressed credits in emerging markets, hired BancTrust & Co. to help arrange calls with investors, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg News reported. The calls with Petroleos de Venezuela SA officials including Chief Financial Officer Simon Zerpa, set to begin July 10, are meant to improve communication with bond investors and will be invitation-only to some of the company’s biggest creditors and emerging-market funds, said the person.

Bets on a Venezuelan default are climbing as international reserves slump toward $10 billion amid anti-government protests and President Nicolas Maduro’s push to rewrite the constitution. The implied probability of the country missing a payment over the next 12 months rose to 56 percent in June, according to credit-default swaps data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s the highest level since December, Bloomberg News reported. The odds of a credit event over the next five years increased to 91 percent last month.