Nepal, Feb. 18 -- It is as if the country has been waging total war on itself. Vital operational centers are malfunctioning because routine maintenance has been neglected and investment discouraged

MEXICO CITY - The world has witnessed many sharp economic declines over the years, but Venezuela's is surely one of the worst to date. The country has experienced a loss of real (inflation-adjusted) GDP greater than that of most war-ravaged countries during World War II, and its inflation rate is expected to reach 10,000,000 percent this year. At well over 100 times the black-market rate, the official exchange rate depreciates so rapidly that a quote has lost its meaning by the time it is published.

Under these conditions, food-90 percent of ...