Venezuela Faces Loss on Lehman

The Venezuelan government, which this week mocked Lehman Brothers Inc.'s woes as a sign of capitalism's imminent demise, could become a victim of the investment bank's failure. The government of Hugo Chávez holds about $300 million in debt instruments that Lehman had agreed to cash, according to three analysts who calculated the holdings separately. With Lehman in trouble, Venezuela will have a hard time selling the debt.