A researcher at John Hopkins who has been tracking prices in Venezuela for two decades, says that the inflation rate has topped 40,000% for the first time.  No, that's not a printing error. The annualized inflation rate for Venezuela is, according to Steve Hanke, 41,838%. Business Insider: Venezuela's government has largely stopped reporting economic data, including internal measures of inflation. The Central Bank of Venezuela, which did not immediately respond to request for comment, has not independently released inflation figures in at least a year. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has passed blame for the roiled economy onto others, including opposition activists and officials in Washington. At a campaign rally in May, he blamed hyperinflation on "criminal mafias." But economists point out that Maduro runs the unorthodox policies they say have pushed the country into economic crisis. The socialist leader has repeatedly refused...(Read Full Post)