Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Turkey forex twitter


  • Turkey is a fast-rising economic power, with a core of internationally competitive companies turning the youthful nation into an entrepreneurial hub, tapping cash-rich export markets in Russia and the Middle East while attracting billions of investment dollars in return.
  • * Turkey’s economic renaissance — last week it reported a stunning 11.4 percent expansion for the first quarter, second only to China....
  • * In June, Turkish exports grew by 13% compared with the previous year, with much of the demand coming from countries on Turkey’s border or close to it, like Iraq, Iran and Russia. With their immature manufacturing bases, they are eager buyers of Turkish cookies, automobiles and flat-screen televisions.
  • * It is an astonishing transformation for an economy that just 10 years ago had a budget deficit of 16% of gross domestic product and inflation of 72%. So complete has this evolution been that Turkey is now closer to fulfilling the criteria for adopting the euro — if it ever does get into the European Union — than most of the troubled economies already in the euro zone. It is well under the 60% ceiling on government debt (49% of G.D.P.) and could well get its annual budget deficit below the 3% benchmark next year. That leaves the reduction of inflation, now running at 8 percent, as the only remaining major policy goal.


  • 3) Seeking Alpha: Turkey's Economic Prospects - As Good as It Gets?

  • * In the short term, the Euro area crisis, Turkey’s soaring current account deficit, and domestic politics pose the biggest risks. In the longer term, Turkey must address a low savings rate and weak education system if it hopes to catch up to the fastest-growing emerging markets.
  • * The other major long term constraint on growth is education. To improve labor force participation—currently about 50 % overall and less than 25% for women, compared with 71 and 63 %, respectively, in the EU—reform of and greater investment in the education system is needed. Turkey has largely reached quantitative targets in schooling, especially among boys; girls are lagging behind but catching up. On the other hand, the average quality of education is miserably low. The Program for International Student Assessment places Turkey second-to-last among OECD countries.