Straight from the Desk

Syz the moment

Live feeds, charts, breaking stories, all day long.

Show more
22 Mar 2024

Turkey raises benchmark rate unexpectedly by 500bps to 50%.

But main rate still way below inflation of 67.1%. Source: Bloomberg, HolgerZ

5 Feb 2024

🇹🇷 A Surprise Resignation at the Central Bank of Turkey (CBT) 🌟

Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan's sudden resignation from the Central Bank of Turkey (CBT) has stirred questions about its impact on monetary policy and financial markets. Erkan, who made history as the first woman to lead the CBT, took office less than eight months ago with a mandate to adopt a more orthodox monetary policy. She swiftly raised the benchmark interest rate to 45% to combat soaring inflation. Following Erkan's exit, her deputy, Fatih Karahan, assumed leadership. With experience from the New York Federal Reserve and Amazon, Karahan is expected to maintain a strict monetary stance. He affirmed a commitment to monetary tightening until inflation aligns with the CBT's goals. This transition arrives amid high consumer price inflation, expected to remain around 65% for January. Karahan's appointment underscores the nation's policy continuity and commitment to economic stability through orthodox monetary measures. As financial markets react, we'll closely watch the CBT's policy decisions under Governor Karahan's leadership and their impact on the Turkish economy. 🇹🇷📈 Source: Bloomberg #CBT #TurkeyEconomy #MonetaryPolicy #MarketImpact

24 Nov 2023

Turkey’s central bank hiked its key interest rate to 40% on Thursday

The lira was trading at 28.766 to the dollar following the news, slightly stronger against the greenback. The rate increase was double economists’ expectations, who had forecast a 250-basis-point hike. The move was seen as a continuation of the bank’s attempt to combat high inflation and a falling lira. Inflation in the country came in at a whopping 61% in October Source: Bloomberg, CNBC

5 Oct 2023

Turkey’s Inflation tops 60% despite massive interest rate hikes as oil surge worsens outlook

Source: HolgerZ, Bloomberg

8 Sep 2023

Turkey inflation has reaccelerated despite sharply increased key interest rates.

Source: Bloomberg

25 Aug 2023

Turkey's Aggressive Rate Hike Triggers 5-Year CDS Drop!

The Turkey Central Bank has taken a significant step in its battle against inflation by implementing a supersized rate hike of 750bps, bringing rates to 25%. This move was unexpected, as the market had anticipated a more "modest" hike to 20%. Turkish fixed income assets have responded positively, with the Turkey 5-year CDS retreating below 400bps. Even Turkey's US Dollar-denominated bonds saw a boost from the news. With the Central Bank of Turkey adopting a more orthodox approach to its monetary policy, the question arises: can they successfully bring inflation back to reasonable levels? To provide context, the latest inflation figure for the month of July was at a staggering 47.8%... Source: Bloomberg

24 Aug 2023

Lira Rallies as Turkey stuns with biggest rate hike in years

The central bank raises benchmark rate by 750 basis points. Turkish currency surges more than 5% against the dollar. The Monetary Policy Committee, under Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan, raised the benchmark one-week repo rate to 25% from 17.5%, the sharpest increase since 2018. Most economists polled by Bloomberg predicted a hike to 20%. It’s the latest indication that Turkey’s new administration is prepared to move away from the unorthodox policies — including ultra-loose borrowing costs — that were championed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan but caused foreign traders to flee the country’s bond and stock markets en masse. Source: Bloomberg

21 Aug 2023

A public library made up entirely of books once destined for landfill. 🙌🏼

Source: Daniel Abrahams

1 2

Thinking out loud

Sign up for our weekly email highlighting the most popular posts.

Follow us

Thinking out loud

Investing with intelligence

Our latest research, commentary and market outlooks