Bloomberg: Turkish lira sinks to a record lowOctober 22, 2020 - 17:55 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The lira sank to a record low after Turkey’s central bank unexpectedly held back from raising its key interest rate, Bloomberg reports. Traders had been holding out for a fresh increase on Thursday, October 22 after policy makers hiked rates at their previous meeting. The currency’s slump of more than 2% -- the biggest decline in emerging markets -- underscored their disappointment as the lira weakened toward 8 per dollar. The Monetary Policy Committee left its key one-week repo rate at 10.25%, a decision forecast by just two of 27 respondents in a Bloomberg survey. At the same time, it raised the upper bound of its interest-rate corridor to 14.75% from 13.25% and doubled the gap with the central bank’s overnight lending rate to 300 basis points. Widening the rates corridor is “a smoke and mirrors trick that is worse than useless if the central bank wants to have an ounce of inflation fighting credibility,” said Nigel Rendell, an analyst at Medley Global Advisors in London. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Macron says France commemorates 109th anniv. of Armenian genocide Today France commemorates the 109th anniversary of the Armenian genocide of 1915, Macron says. Freedom House concerned by mounting reports of police violence in Armenia Freedom House urged Armenian authorities to investigate this pattern of excessive force and inhumane treatment. |