Mehmet

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet ?im?ek said Turkey has shown remarkable progress in the fight against corruption and improving perceptions across the globe, noting however more progress was needed in a speech at a conference held by the Washington branch of the Foundation for Political Social and Economic Research Association (SETA) in the U.S. capital on Jan 7.  

The price of olive oil rose by one its highest figures ever in 2015, jumping 107 percent compared to the previous year as Turkey's inflation hit 8.8 percent, mainly due to a continuous rise in food and non-alcoholic beverages. 

Central Bank Governor Erdem Ba?ç? will explain why the bank's 2015 inflation rate was 8.81 percent instead of its target rate of 5 percent in a letter to Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet ?im?ek.  

This is the fifth time the bank was unable to achieve its target inflation rate under Ba?ç?. 

The co-mayor of Turkey's eastern province of Van, Bekir Kaya, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Jan. 4 on charges of "being a member of terrorist organization," along with 12 other defendants jailed in the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) case.

The 13 defendants were all given jail terms between seven and 15 years.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu will meet foreign investors in London on Jan. 17-19 in a series of meetings hosted by global investment bank Merrill Lynch. 

Davuto?lu will be accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet ?im?ek, several ministers, and a number of top economy officials, with sources telling Reuters that he plans to "share details of the government's reform agenda." 

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet ?im?ek said souring relations with Moscow after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane last month had not had a serious impact on trade and was unlikely to do so.

"We do not anticipate a lasting, significant impact on foreign trade. If there is one, it will be limited," he told Reuters in an interview.

Cities, I believe, also have dreams like humans. In numerous travels to Edirne from the most western part of the country, to the southeastern cities Gaziantep, Mardin and Diyarbak?r, I have come across these dreams. 

All eyes in the Turkish markets have been on the rate decision of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) this week. Eight years after a devastating recession opened an era of loose U.S. monetary policy, the Fed was expected to raise rates late Dec. 16 for the first time since 2006, a sign the world's largest economy had overcome most of the wounds sustained in the global financial crisis.

Turkey has set to revive its efforts to join the European Union by beginning to discuss and negotiate on a new chapter on Dec. 14, as part of a major deal to help Europe solve its migration crisis.

Talks between Ankara and the European Union about updating Turkey's customs union will begin next year, EU Affairs Minister and Chief Negotiator Volkan Bozk?r said on Dec. 14.