Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
An Istanbul court formally arrested Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya early Nov. 6, making her the first former minister to face formal arrest in the AKP’s 24 years in power. Sayan Kaya, a former AKP deputy chair and Family and Social Policy Minister, is the most senior figure yet caught up in a scandal that has rattled financial markets since September.
The Central Bank cut its benchmark policy rate by 100 basis points to 36% on Oct. 22, its first monetary easing since January, in line with market expectations.
Bursa lawmaker Cemalettin Kani Torun, who left the Yeni Yol Party group of conservative opposition lawmakers in August soon after the Gelecek Party dissolved itself, joined the AKP and will be an adviser to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the Terror-Free Turkey process and on Africa policy.
For decades, Turkish foreign policy in the Caucasus rested on a single, unshakeable motto set by former Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev: 'One nation, two states.'
Statements attributed to Central Bank Governor Fatih Karahan during IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok sparked debate over foreign exchange policy, prompting a direct denial from a top market economist who attended the session.
For the first time in nearly five years, Turkey’s annual inflation rate slipped below 30%, giving the central bank room to consider easing monetary policy at its meeting on Oct. 22.
The central bank has resumed one-week repo auctions after a nearly six-month pause, an operational shift that effectively lowers market funding costs and paves the way for official policy rate cuts.
The central bank kept its benchmark policy rate unchanged at 37% during its Monetary Policy Committee meeting on July 23, matching market expectations. However, business leaders are increasingly complaining about high borrowing costs, tight credit restrictions, and falling industrial output.
Most market participants expect the central bank to keep the policy rate unchanged at 37% when it meets on July 23, but pressure is building for a cut and some experts are calling for a wholesale shift in monetary policy.
The central bank kept its benchmark policy rate unchanged at 37% for the third consecutive meeting on June 11, matching the consensus forecast of economists. The Monetary Policy Committee also held its overnight lending rate at 40% and its borrowing rate at 35.5%. The central bank last altered its policy rate in January with a 100-basis-point cut.
Journalist Deniz Zeyrek writes about a closed-door briefing organized by AKP's media and communications chief Faruk Acar, at which Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke to senior editors and Ankara bureau chiefs from pro-government outlets about Turkey's foreign policy. Zeyrek identifies three problems with the meeting.
The central bank kept its benchmark policy rate unchanged at 37% on April 22, meeting the expectations of most analysts. The decision comes following intensified criticism of both the bank and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, 59, from the business world and media outlets close to the government.