Tag: Inflation

The Story: The US Federal Reserve has received a lot of criticism in recent months for what many see as an overly rigid stance toward...

I read with interest that MPs find themselves powerless to moderate an above-inflation 2.7% pay rise recommended by their independent pay review body (Report, 1 March). The government has not had the same difficulties in rejecting the recommendations of the Independent Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body when it comes to doctors’ pay. Dr Stuart Laurie GP Liverpool • Surely now’s the time to remainder Donald Trump’s The Art of the Deal (Report, 1 March). John Bailey St Albans, Hertfordshire • I’m a northerner living in the south and Corrie’s “mingebag” jibe (Corrie’s ‘mingebag’ jibe splits the nation, G2, 28 February) sailed past me. I only clutched my pearls worrying about what was happening to Roy! Jean Jackson Seer Green, Buckinghamshire • In my Cheshire childhood, mingey was synonymous with parsimonious and could be used to describe a less-than-generous portion of Manchester tart for pudding at school dinners. So many clues in that sentence re region, era and even class. Aren’t words and dialects wonderful? Carol Ward Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire • Visiting George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon, on the banks of the Potomac, I was fascinated to learn that the mansion had no bathroom – neither for ablutions nor “easement” (Letters, passim). For the latter purpose, the president, his family, his distinguished guests and his house staff had to trek across the front lawn to a hut concealed in the shrubbery and rather wonderfully named “the Necessary”.

After a deep plunge late last week, the Turkish lira had fallen nearly 30% against the dollar since June 24, when President Recep Erdogan won an election cementing all but absolute power. Inflation is running at a 16% annual rate. The iShares MSCI Turkey exchange-traded fund (ticker: TUR) is off more than 40% year-to-date, and by Friday was dragging down other emerging markets and shares of European banks with exposure. Erdogan appointed his son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, as finance minister, replacing respected veteran Mehmet Simsek. Central bank governor Murat Cetinkaya whiffed on an expected rate increase, then disappeared from view. Erdogan himself took a mystical approach as the currency melted down. “If they have their dollars, we have our people, our god,” he told the nation Aug. 9, urging citizens to save the lira with their mattress greenbacks. State-dominated media poured on hype about a Washington-led currency plot aimed at undermining Turkey’s resurgence to lost Ottoman glory. But with a low sovereign debt around 30% of GDP, Ankara can afford it. The vital virtual export of tourism already looks to be up 30% this year, Ash says.

The International Monetary Fund says that Venezuela's inflation is expected to hit 1,000,000% by the end of the year. CNN's Paula Newton reports.