Turkey Inflation at New 24-year High of 83% after Rate Cuts | DW News

Inflation in Turkey climbed to a new 24-year high of 83.45% in September, according to official data, after the central bank surprised markets by cutting rates twice in the last two months.

Turkey's repeated reductions in rates come at the insistence of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who believes — contrary to well-established economic principles — that reducing interest rates can slow inflation, rather than fuel it.

What's behind Turkey's Ballooning Trade Deficit | DW Business

Aug 29, 2022 As Russia's invasion of Ukraine grinds on, its impact continues to be felt far beyond Ukraine's borders. In Turkey, the war has cast a shadow over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's economic ambitions.

Turkey's trade deficit has ballooned over the last seven months on the back of rising commodity prices. In July, the monthly gap reached almost 11 billion dollars, which is a record level. The imbalance between imports and exports from January through July was 144 percent higher than a year earlier, according to Turkey’s state statistics agency. Add to that the rapid depreciation of the lira, and Turkey's problems don't look set to end soon.

All Is Forgiven? Saudi Leader on First Turkey Visit since Khashoggi Murder • FRANCE 24 English

Jun 22, 2022 • Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman is visiting Turkey, less than four years after dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi entered his consulate in Istanbul, never to reemerge. Does President Recep Tayyip Erdogan burying the hatchet with the Gulf oil giant have anything to do with Turkey's skyrocketing inflation and soaring energy costs? As for the crown prince, this trip is part of a broader return to grace, precipitated by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and the scramble for alternatives to Russian oil.

Inflation in Turkey: Researcher Won’t Hide the Figures Erdogan Doesn’t Want to See

A man buys bread in the Ulus district of Ankara, Turkey on May 5, 2022. © Burhan Ozbilici, AP
FRANCE 24: In May the official Turkish statistics institute established the inflation rate at 73.5 percent, the highest in the country since 1998 – a figure ENAG, an independent group of researchers, immediately disputed. It puts the real rate at around 160.80 percent. The director of the organisation became the target of judicial inquiries and political pressure, and is losing his position at his university.

His hands deep in the pockets of his apron, sporting a large drooping grey moustache, Zeki looks wearily at the fruits and vegetables lying in full view in his shop in Moda, in the heart of the Kadikoy district in Istanbul on the Asian side of the city. "Look at these beautiful pink heirloom tomatoes," he says, pointing his chin in their direction. "They're coming straight from Antalya. Normally in this season everyone wants them. What a waste."

A year ago, Zeki was selling the tomatoes for eight Turkish liras (.45 euros) per kilogramme. Today, he can't sell them for less than 20 (1.10 euros), more than double last year's price. Economists say inflation is to blame, but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan disagrees. He explained on June 6 that inflation doesn't exist in Turkey and that price increases are due to the growing cost of living. Denial » | Ludovic DE FOUCARD | Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Turkey Wants to Be Called Türkiye in Rebranding Move

BBC: Turkey will be known as Türkiye at the United Nations from now on, after it agreed to a formal request from Ankara.

Several international bodies will be asked to make the name change as part of a rebranding campaign launched by the Turkish president late last year.

"Türkiye is the best representation and expression of the Turkish people's culture, civilization, and values," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in December.

The UN says it made the change as soon as it received the request this week.

Most Turks already know their country as Türkiye. However the anglicised form Turkey is widely used, even within the country.

State broadcaster TRT was quick to make the change as soon as it was announced last year, explaining that among the reasons for the image rebrand was the association with the bird traditionally associated with Christmas, New Year or Thanksgiving.

It also pointed out the Cambridge English Dictionary's definition of one of the meanings of the word as "something that fails badly" or "a stupid or silly person". » | Tiffany Wertheimer, BBC News | Thursday, June 2, 2022

Turkey Now Has World's 6th Highest Inflation Rate | DW News

May 6, 2022 • Prices in the country rose by almost 70 percent in April, according to new official statistics. The new figure gives Turkey the dubious honor of having the sixth highest inflation rate in the world. It comes as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues to insist interest rates be cut to stem inflation, the opposite of what conventional economists recommend. The rising prices are putting further pressure on Turks, who are struggling to make ends meet. We asked some people on the streets of Istanbul how inflation is impacting their lives.

Saudis Give Billions to Jared Kushner; Turkey Suspends Trial of Saudis Accused of Killing Khashoggi

Apr 12, 2022 • We speak with Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), about Turkey's recent decision to suspend the trial of 26 Saudi men accused of killing journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018. DAWN sued Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his alleged conspirators in the murder. Whitson says Turkey's move to turn over the case to prosecutors in Saudi Arabia shows "the Turkish government has decided that good relations — and in particular investment and trade with Saudi Arabia — is more important than pursuing justice for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi on Turkish soil." We also ask Whitson about news that a fund led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has invested $2 billion in Jared Kushner's new private equity firm just years after Kushner helped push forward a $110 billion weapons sale to Saudi Arabia while his father-in-law was in office. She says the investment "exposes the corruption and lack of accountability in both the American system and the Saudi system."

Could Israel or Turkey Broker Peace in Ukraine? | DW News

Mar 6, 2022 • Israel appears to be emerging as a diplomatic dark horse. On Saturday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett became the first world leader to meet with Vladimir Putin since the invasion began. The surprise meeting was followed by talks with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. Bennett then travelled on to Germany – the second time this week the two leaders met, after Scholz visited Jerusalem on Wednesday to discuss a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Bennett has offered to act as a mediator, with Israel maintaining good relations with both Russia and Ukraine. Turkey's President Erdogan has held a phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The Turkish leader was expected to urge Putin to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine. Turkey has close relations with both Moscow and Kyiv but recently moved to limit the passage of Russian warships into the Black Sea. Under the Montreux Convention Ankara can block ships from passing through its straits during wartime but can't prevent them from returning to their home ports.

Why Is Turkey Rebranding as Türkiye? - BBC News

Feb 14, 2022 • Turkey is rebranding its internationally-recognised name as Türkiye. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the new name “represents and expresses the culture, civilisation, and values of the Turkish nation in the best way”. But the change is about more than phonetic pronunciation.

Turkey’s Doctors Are Leaving, the Latest Casualty of Spiraling Inflation

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Doctors, worn down by grueling hours and violence, are emigrating in rising numbers, undermining one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s signature achievements.

ISTANBUL — Anxiety rose after an assistant doctor died last fall when she plowed her car into the back of a truck after a long shift.

Then there were the growing cases of violence. An assistant doctor abandoned his career after a patient stabbed him in the stomach and hand. A pregnant nurse was hospitalized after being kicked in the belly.

The worsening economy and soaring inflation, which has reduced some doctors’ salaries close to the level of the minimum wage, has brought many to a tipping point, driving them in growing numbers to search for better opportunities abroad.

Their departures are a sad indictment of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who burnished his own reputation by expanding universal health care over his 18 years in power. It was one of his signature achievements. For many of his supporters, that action alone remains their main reason to support him.

But the strains of those overhauls wrought by Mr. Erdogan, in addition to those brought by the pandemic — and now galloping inflation — have undermined the very professionals on whom the health system depends.
Doctors complain of a grinding workload, diminishing returns for their work, a drastic loss of respect for the profession under Mr. Erdogan, and an increase in physical violence from their own patients.

More than 1,400 Turkish doctors left their posts to work abroad last year, and 4,000 over the past decade, according to the Turkish Medical Association, the largest association of medical professionals in the country. Many more are preparing applications and have requested certificates of good standing from the organization, officials said. » | Carlotta Gall | Monday, February 7, 2022

Erdogan Pledges to Tackle Record Inflation in Turkey | DW News

Jan 20, 2022 • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to bring down Turkey's soaring inflation. Inflation jumped to 36% last month, seriously eroding the earnings of millions of Turks.

Collapsing Turkish Lira May Bring Erdogan Down with It

THE TIMES: The Turkish president’s disastrous response to an inflation crisis has stirred up anger at his authoritatian rule

President Erdogan has insisted on cutting interest rates, against most economic advice, because he believes interest is condemned in the Quran | GETTY
When anti-government protests spread through Kazakhstan, President Erdogan was quick to offer Turkish support and try to rally other Turkic-speaking countries to the cause. The reason is clear: Erdogan faces a similar threat of a popular uprising at home and he is determined to hang on to power at all costs.

Like in Kazakhstan, there has been an explosion of anger in Turkey over the rising cost of living, corruption and the increasingly autocratic tendencies of its leader. Kazakh anger was triggered by a sharp rise in gas prices; in Turkey it was the precipitous fall over the past six months in the value of the lira, which has wiped out savings, bankrupted small businesses and caused soaring inflation. » | Michael Binyon | Thursday, January 13, 2022 [£]

Lira Loses 5% of Value in a Single Day amid Erdoğan's 'Economic War of Independence' | DW News

Jan 3, 2022 • Turkey’s annual inflation rate jumped to more than 36% in December. That's the highest level in almost two decades. The value of the Turkish lira has slumped to record lows, forcing retailers to hike prices sharply. The currency has suffered as a result of a series of central bank rate cuts, forced through by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan'.

Turkish Lira at Record Low Puts Erdogan under Pressure | DW News

Turkey: Soaring Inflation Puts Erdogan under Pressure | DW News

Dec 16, 2021 • Turkey's lira crashed 7% in just a few minutes to a record of nearly 15 lira to the dollar. At the same time, inflation is soaring. Under pressure from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the central bank is expected to cut its policy rate later this week.

Turkey Faces Threat of Financial Crisis after Lira Plunges against Dollar

THE GUARDIAN: Central bank forced to defend currency as traders respond to interest rate cut with sharp selloff

A customer at a bureau de change in Istanbul over the weekend. The lira was trading at almost 15 to the dollar at one point on Monday. Photograph: Serkan Senturk/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock
Fears that Turkey is on course for a full-scale financial crisis have intensified after the lira plunged to fresh lows against the US dollar.

Turkey’s central bank was forced to step in to defend the ailing currency – selling US dollars for lira – after the latest sharp selloff.

The lira was at one stage trading at almost 15 to the dollar as currency dealers contemplated the prospect of the latest in a series of interest rates cuts demanded of the central bank by the country’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Erdoğan’s insistence that the central bank should keep reducing the cost of borrowing despite annual inflation running at 20% has led to the value of the lira halving during 2021. » | Larry Elliott, Economics editor | Monday, December 13, 2021

Turkish Lira Plunges, Loses Nearly 40% of Its Value This Year | DW News

Nov 24, 2021 • It's been an especially tough past few days for the Turkish lira. It remains near all-time lows against the dollar. The country recently cut interest rates at the insistence of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan despite the warnings of economists. The consequences are borne by normal Turks. Many are now angry.

Turkish Hotel Won’t Let Two Men Share a Room but Will Give Straight Couples ‘Tantra Sofas’

PINK NEWS: Holiday resorts and hotels in Turkey have been banning men from staying without female company, in widespread policies that discriminate against gay men.

The issue was revealed by travel site One Mile at a Time, after writer Ben Schlappig was alerted to the issue by a reader.

The reader was told by a the Lujo Hotel in Bodrum, Turkey, that his booking for two men to stay in one room was not allowed.

When he enquired about the reason, he was told it was because men simply party too hard when there are no women around.

However, if the hotel is against partying, its management has a strange way of showing it. » | Lily Wakefield | Thursday, September 9, 2021

Turkey: Homosexuality Could Soon Be “Illegal”

Mar 15, 2021 • “The clock is ticking! Homosexuality will be illegal in Turkey! We must act NOW! Recently, Turkish President Erdogan said there was no such thing as LGBT people! His Interior Minister referred to protesters as ‘LGBT Deviants’ on Twitter. Their rhetoric is ramping up, and we KNOW how this will end. Soon, it will be illegal to be LGBTQ in Turkey. We must act NOW!”

In this video, Okan Sengun explains what is happening in Turkey. From the 2021 Boğaziçi University student protests, trans women were arrested at the Women's March.

Okan explains what Twitter should do immediately to stop the spread of hate speeches in Turkey and the horrible end gay Turks are facing if they don’t speak out.

Turkish Opposition Begins Joining Ranks against Erdogan

THE NEW YORK TIMES: With an eye on elections, six parties are working on a plan to end a powerful presidency and return to a parliamentary system.

A coalition of opposition parties is preparing to challenge the long reign of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. | Pool photo by Vladimir Smirnov
ISTANBUL — Turkish opposition parties are presenting an increasingly united and organized front aimed at replacing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and even forcing early elections in the coming year to challenge his 19-year rule.

As they negotiate a broad alliance among themselves, the leaders of six opposition parties appear to have agreed on turning the next election into a kind of referendum on the presidential system that Mr. Erdogan introduced four years ago and considers one of his proudest achievements.

His opponents say that presidential system has allowed Mr. Erdogan to concentrate nearly authoritarian power — fueling corruption and allowing him to rule by decree, dictate monetary policy, control the courts and jail tens of thousands of political opponents.

By making the change back to a parliamentary system a centerpiece of its agenda, Mr. Erdogan’s opposition hopes to shift debate to the fundamental question of the deteriorating health of Turkey’s democracy. » | Carlotta Gall | Saturday, October 23, 2021