TREASURY PAYS RECORD RATES IN BACK-TO-BACK BOND AUCTIONS
Turkey has become the world's most expensive borrower in local currency, agreeing to pay interest rates exceeding 41% during back-to-back domestic bond auctions this week.
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BIG MAC INDEX SUGGESTS LIRA IS SEVERELY OVERVALUED
Former Treasury Undersecretary and prominent economist Mahfi Eğilmez calculated that the fair value of the US dollar should be 65 liras based on the Big Mac Index, far above the market exchange rate of 47.50 liras and warned that the holding the exchange rate below its fair value inflates the country's GDP and per capita income figures on paper without making Turks any richer.
NEW BILL TO CLEAR PATH FOR BOOKING.COM RETURN AFTER 9-YEAR BAN
A new legislative proposal submitted by ruling party AKP lawmakers aims to allow foreign online travel agencies, including Booking.com, to return to the Turkish market under a structured legal framework after nearly nine years of suspension.
GOVERNMENT CUTS DIESEL TAXES TO LOWER FUEL PRICES AND COMBAT INFLATION
The Turkish government has temporarily eliminated the special consumption tax on diesel fuel for the remainder of August in an effort to curb inflation. Pump prices fell by more than 13 percent a day after the government’s decision on Aug. 12.
CENTRAL BANK RAISES YEAR-END INFLATION FORECAST TO 28 PERCENT
The central bank has raised its year-end inflation forecast for 2026 to 28 percent from 26 percent.
FIDAN MEETS TRIPOLI AND BENGHAZI LEADERS ALIKE
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan traveled to Libya on Aug. 11 and 12, visiting both Tripoli and Benghazi, in what appears to be the first time a Turkish foreign minister has made a simultaneous visit to meet competing sides in the Libyan conflict.
YRP AND SAADET PARTY TALKS GAIN MOMENTUM
Two parties that once stood as rivals, both claiming the legacy of Necmettin Erbakan — the founding leader of political Islam in Turkey under the name of National View— are continuing merger talks.
ERDOĞAN EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE NEW AKP MEMBERS
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to welcome new members into the AKP at the party's 25th anniversary event in Ankara on Aug. 14, with two sitting deputies from the İYİ Party set to join.
MINERS DETAINED OUTSIDE ENERGY MINISTRY AS THEY CONTINUE PROTESTS OVER UNPAID WAGES
Police forcibly intervened on Aug. 13 against striking miners outside the Energy Ministry in Ankara, detaining union leaders and multiple workers on the fourth day of their protest over unpaid wages.
ETIMESGUT VOTE MARKS FIRST CHP-PEOPLE'S ALLIANCE COOPERATION
The first cooperation between members of the CHP and the People's Alliance took place in Ankara's Etimesgut municipal elections.
İMAMOĞLU FINALLY RESIGNS FROM CHP
Ekrem İmamoğlu, Istanbul’s jailed mayor, announced his resignation from the CHP and his decision to support the Yeni Party three weeks after its founding.
AKP AND DEM PARTY EXCHANGE BARBS OVER NETANYAHU
A reference to Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks was enough to increase the tension between the AKP and DEM soon after the two’s cooperation on the framework law.