When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion into Ukraine on 24 February, he said that his country’s “special operation” was a preemptive move to terminate NATO’s “endless” expansion toward Russia. Now that expansion has grown as Finland and Sweden announced that they will begin the process of seeking NATO membership due to Russia’s invasion...
316 search results for: Turkey
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HAMAS CALLS OUT BAHRAIN, TURKEY FOR SPEAKING OUT AGAINST TEL AVIV ATTACK
Bahrain and Turkey spoke out against the recent attacks in Tel Aviv, prompting Hamas to “denounce and reject” the condemnations. Last week, the Trends Journal reported on the spate of attacks throughout Israel. (See “SHOOTING BREAKS OUT IN ISRAEL: REVENGE OR TERRORISM.”) One of the attacks included a Palestinian who opened fire in a Tel Aviv suburb,...
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TURKEY’S CENTRAL BANK INTEREST RATE GAMBLE
For the second consecutive month, Turkey’s central bank has paused its practice of cutting interest rates in the face of mounting inflation, which was running at 48.7 percent in January, according to official figures that we reported in “Turkey’s Inflation Rate Nears 50 Percent” (8 Feb 2022). Analysts had expected the bank to leave the...
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TURKEY’S BONDS DOWNGRADED. WORSE TO COME
On 12 February, ratings agency Fitch lowered Turkey’s sovereign bond ratings deeper into junk status, dropping them from BB- to B+, putting the G20 nation on the same credit footing as Benin and Rwanda. The lower rating will increase Turkey’s borrowing cost, an especially painful consequence because Turkey depends on foreign lending to keep its...
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TURKEY’S INFLATION RATE NEARS 50 PERCENT
Inflation in Turkey reached an annual rate of 48.7 percent in January, speeding past December’s pace of 36.1 percent, according to the government’s statistics agency, and notching the worst mark since 2002. Electricity, food, and gas costs were key drivers of price increases, meaning that inflation is hitting the poor the hardest. Independent economists gathered...
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ERDOGAN INJECTS TURKEY INTO UKRAINE CONFLICT
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has a 40 percent approval rating at home and is fighting skyrocketing inflation, took a trip to Ukraine last week, playing the role of mediator between Russia and Ukraine. He said he made the trip because Western countries have failed miserably in their effort to calm tensions in the...
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SPOTLIGHT: TURKEY IN CRISIS
TURKEY’S INFLATION RATE ZOOMS PAST 36 PERCENT IN DECEMBER Inflation in Turkey soared to 36.1 percent last month, the most in the 19 years that strongman president Recep Erdogan has ruled and enforced his notion that low interest rates counter consumer price increases. Inflation was running at 37 percent in September 2002, two months before...
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TURKEY’S MARKETS CRASH, CURRENCY CRISIS
On Monday, 20 December, the value of Turkey’s lira slid to 18 against the dollar, down 13 percent after plunging 5 percent Friday. The currency cratered after the country’s central bank cut interest rates on 16 December, the fourth cut in as many months as inflation continued to rage at more than 21 percent, although...
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TURKEY’S ECONOMY CONTINUES TO IMPLODE
Turkey’s lira has lost almost half its value against the dollar this year and inflation continues its relentless climb, thanks to the economic policies forced on the nation’s central bank by strongman president Recep Erdogan. High interest rates fuel inflation and low rates reduce it, Erdogan believes, contrary to economic theory and decades of experience....
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TURKEY: THE FAMOUS LIRA DIVE
Once again, Turkey’s central bank has cut interest rates, sending its currency to a new low against the dollar and heightening fears that inflation will worsen and crash the country’s economy. The bank cut its one-week repo rate by 1 percentage point to 15 percent, the third cut since economist Sahap Kavcioglu became the bank’s...