Financial economics

An association of the Capital Markets Board (SPK) has intensified its investigations on both the real estate sector and entities producing valuation reports after extensive profiteering and manipulations were detected, particularly in property sales to foreigners seeking Turkish citizenship, a senior official has said.

The potential demand for homes cannot be unleashed due to the combination of several factors, including elevated residential property prices and high loan costs, according to representatives from the real estate market.

Investor confidence will be further strengthened and foreign fund inflows into Türkiye will accelerate, Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said.

BELGRADE - The National Bank of Serbia (NBS) Executive Board decided on Thursday to keep the key policy rate on hold at 6.50 pct.

The rates on deposit (5.25 pct) and lending facilities (7.75 pct) also remained unchanged, the NBS said in a statement.

Bulgaria has achieved a significant milestone in its fiscal management by successfully raising an external debt of 2.3 billion euros through two separate issues on international markets. This strategic financial move not only indicates Bulgaria's solid standing in the global financial landscape but also plays a pivotal role in covering old debts and managing the national deficit.

Turkey must sustain its push on production and exports to prevent the economy falling into recession even as it fights inflation, Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said on Friday. 

Since May elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government launched a U-turn away from unorthodox policies including interest rate cuts that had sparked a lira crisis and sent inflation soaring. 

Turks will get little reprieve from a soaring cost of living this summer as economists expect prices to jump by as much as 8.5% in August, underlining Ankara's challenge as it embarks on a painful path toward more orthodox policies.

China slipped into deflation for the first time in more than two years in July, official data showed yesterday, as slowing domestic spending weighs on the post-COVID economic recovery.

The reading comes a day after news that the country suffered its biggest fall in exports since the early days of the pandemic, while imports tanked again as domestic and global demand fall away.

After eight months of deceleration, the annual inflation rate has climbed from 38.2 percent in June to 47.83 percent in July, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) showed on Aug. 3.

Consumer prices rose by 9.49 percent last month from June, when the monthly inflation was 3.92 percent.

Australia left its key interest rate unchanged yesterday, with central bank governor Philip Lowe saying previous hikes were "working" but the outlook was uncertain.

The pause is the second in a row that the rate has been kept on hold at 4.1 percent, following a string of rises aimed at taming runaway prices.