World press on Turkish and Russian economies and American-Iranian relations (January 17, 2015)British magazine the Economist discussed today the Turkish economy in an article entitled "Saved by the well". "It is a measure of how weak Turkey’s opposition parties are that they see an economic crisis as their sole hope of ejecting the conservative Justice and Development (AK) Party government," the article reads. In the summer of 2013 the Turkish economy was in stagnation and investors were withdrawing funding from emerging countries, including Turkey, which is higly dependent on foreign capital. The rising inflation together with crisis in Iraq, the second-largest market of Turkish exports after Germany which diminished them by 40 % has taken its toll on the Turkish economy. However, the recent decrease in oil prices "immediately relieved the pressure on the current account and on inflation. Turkey’s huge energy imports had been costing 6% of GDP a year. Thanks largely to lower fuel costs, the current-account deficit is set to shrink to around 5 % of GDP this year. Largely for the same reason, inflation will fall to 6.8%. Most bankers say the economy will grow by around 3.5% this year; the government talks of more than 4%." This made Turkey are more desirable place to invest money into with Russia and Brazil in stagnation. The author of the article wonders if Turkey will use this financial opportunity to conduct structural reforms in the country. The IMF would like Turkey to "liberalise its rigid labour market," education system is also in need of reorm. The article quotes Selin Sayek-Boke who calls president of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan "an economic risk." “The greatest threat to the economy is the erosion of the rule of law,” the article quotes Boke as saying. However, the article concludes, "Yet Mr Erdogan understands more than anyone that it is rising living standards that help to keep AK in power. He may be persuaded that change is needed."The Economist also run today an article entitled "Central Asia and Russia’s crisis. Contagion." "Russia’s economic crunch and a falling rouble—a consequence, exacerbated by economic mismanagement, of sharply lower global oil prices—worry millions of Central Asians who depend on relatives working in the former imperial power to send money home," the artile reads. The publication reports that remittances amount to a third of Kyrgyz GPD and almost to a half of Tajik GDP, referring to the World Bank. With the falling of ruble, the amount of remittances will decrease as well. Due to the crisis, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan might experience a double-digit inflation. It is expected that a quarter of migrant workers currentlu in Russia will return home to Central Asia. "The prospect of hundreds of thousands of unemployed young men flooding these weak states should terrify Central Asia’s graft-prone governments, which do little to create jobs and rely on emigration to ease social pressures," the article reads. The article reports, that "despite the obvious risks of being yoked to the Russian economy" such as the double increase in unemployment in the country Kyrgyzstan sees no alternative except for to join the Eurasian Economic Union. An article headlined "Obama tells Congress that more sanctions on Iran could lead to war" appeared in the Los Angeles times. Barack Obama called the Iranian nuclear crisis "one of the most difficult and long-lasting national security problems." According to the author of the article, the president is anxious about Congress' plans to adopt new sanctions against Iran and is taking precautionary measures since if the Congress adopts further sanctions, Iranian officials and other countries will see it as "a gesture of bad faith" and will hold the U.S. responsible for the "collapse of the talks".
British magazine the Economist discussed today the Turkish economy in an article entitled "Saved by the well". "It is a measure of how weak Turkey’s opposition parties are that they see an economic crisis as their sole hope of ejecting the conservative Justice and Development (AK) Party government," the article reads. In the summer of 2013 the Turkish economy was in stagnation and investors were withdrawing funding from emerging countries, including Turkey, which is higly dependent on foreign capital. The rising inflation together with crisis in Iraq, the second-largest market of Turkish exports after Germany which diminished them by 40 % has taken its toll on the Turkish economy. However, the recent decrease in oil prices "immediately relieved the pressure on the current account and on inflation. Turkey’s huge energy imports had been costing 6% of GDP a year. Thanks largely to lower fuel costs, the current-account deficit is set to shrink to around 5 % of GDP this year. Largely for the same reason, inflation will fall to 6.8%. Most bankers say the economy will grow by around 3.5% this year; the government talks of more than 4%." This made Turkey are more desirable place to invest money into with Russia and Brazil in stagnation. The author of the article wonders if Turkey will use this financial opportunity to conduct structural reforms in the country. The IMF would like Turkey to "liberalise its rigid labour market," education system is also in need of reorm. The article quotes Selin Sayek-Boke who calls president of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan "an economic risk." “The greatest threat to the economy is the erosion of the rule of law,” the article quotes Boke as saying. However, the article concludes, "Yet Mr Erdogan understands more than anyone that it is rising living standards that help to keep AK in power. He may be persuaded that change is needed."
The Economist also run today an article entitled "Central Asia and Russia’s crisis. Contagion." "Russia’s economic crunch and a falling rouble—a consequence, exacerbated by economic mismanagement, of sharply lower global oil prices—worry millions of Central Asians who depend on relatives working in the former imperial power to send money home," the artile reads. The publication reports that remittances amount to a third of Kyrgyz GPD and almost to a half of Tajik GDP, referring to the World Bank. With the falling of ruble, the amount of remittances will decrease as well. Due to the crisis, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan might experience a double-digit inflation. It is expected that a quarter of migrant workers currentlu in Russia will return home to Central Asia. "The prospect of hundreds of thousands of unemployed young men flooding these weak states should terrify Central Asia’s graft-prone governments, which do little to create jobs and rely on emigration to ease social pressures," the article reads. The article reports, that "despite the obvious risks of being yoked to the Russian economy" such as the double increase in unemployment in the country Kyrgyzstan sees no alternative except for to join the Eurasian Economic Union.
An article headlined "Obama tells Congress that more sanctions on Iran could lead to war" appeared in the Los Angeles times. Barack Obama called the Iranian nuclear crisis "one of the most difficult and long-lasting national security problems." According to the author of the article, the president is anxious about Congress' plans to adopt new sanctions against Iran and is taking precautionary measures since if the Congress adopts further sanctions, Iranian officials and other countries will see it as "a gesture of bad faith" and will hold the U.S. responsible for the "collapse of the talks".
