First to report Venezuela actions against big agribusiness

Reuters was first among international news organizations to report on March 4 that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez seized the rice operations of U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill and threatened to expropriate the largest Venezuelan food company in a renewed nationalization drive. Venezuelas currency weakened for the first time in weeks from 5.6 to 5.8 bolivars to the dollar and U.S. rice futures fell as the news reinforced bearish sentiment. Reuters beat Bloomberg by 4 minutes and Dow Jones by more than an hour with news of the Cargill seizure. In Caracas, Reuters produced analyses about the risks of unrest and economic troubles from Chavezs offensive and about how the moves signalled the Socialist leader would continue to adopt radical policies this year even as public finances suffer from the decline in oil prices. From Chicago, Reuters also analyzed how the moves sour the investment climate in Latin America’s agriculture sector. Reuters had told readers last month that Chavez`s win in a referendum on allowing his re-election could embolden him to make moves to tighten state control over farming.