USA – Venezuelans are furious with Goldman Sachs for buying the country’s government bonds last week, which critics say gives a lifeline to an incompetent government that is starving its people. Goldman confirmed the purchase yesterdaymorning after the Wall Street Journal first reported it.

Goldman stands to make a nice profit from the purchase. It allegedly paid just 31 cents on the dollar, or $865 million, for bonds that were originally worth $2.8 billion. In other words, it got a huge discount on the bonds that pay a high return. Goldman Sachs defended its action, saying it bought the bonds, issued in 2014 by state-run oil company PDVSA, with the hope that life in Venezuela will improve. The value of the bonds would then rise too. (CNN)[+]