Traders reduced their bets on a default of Venezuela’s dollar debt over the next year amid a thin repayment schedule in the first quarter. The implied probability of nonpayment over the next 12 months plunged to 44 percent in January from 59 percent at the end of December, according to credit-default swaps data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s the first time the risk of default has been below 50 percent since September. The longer-term outlook is still a little murky, with the odds of a credit event over the next five years at 89 percent. January proved to be a volatile month in Venezuelan politics as President Nicolas Maduro reshuffled his cabinet, named and delegated wide-ranging powers to a new vice president, replaced the head of the central bank and appointed a new board at state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA . That happened as officials continue to face […]