查看原文
其他

VOA As It Is: Turkey’s Economic Policies Cause Its Money’s ...

littleflute 漂泊者乐园 2021-10-05

漂泊者乐园 VOA慢速英语听力

Turkey’s Economic Policies Cause Its Money’s Value to Drop


A money changer counts Turkish lira bills at an currency exchange office in central Istanbul, Turkey, Aug. 21, 2015.



The value of Turkish money, called the lira, hit another historic low compared to the U.S. dollar on Tuesday.

Among the reasons for the drop is that currency traders are concerned that the Turkish economy is growing too quickly.

With elections coming soon, the government is pushing economic growth. Currently growth is over seven percent. That makes Turkey one of the fastest-growing economies.

But international investors are becoming more worried about the cost of such growth. Turkey has inflation of over 10 percent. The country also is importing more goods than it exports leading to an increasing trade deficit, or current account deficit.

"Investors are disappointed by the fact the government is pushing growth even faster,” said economist Inan Demir of Nomura Holdings. He added that most investors believe the government should be trying to lower inflation and the current account deficit.

"Some people say this: 'Too much growth is not a good thing,'" Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech Monday in an answer to critics. "Why? Because they are jealous. It is nothing else," he said.

In another move to grow the economy, Erdogan announced $34 billion in new economic programs. Much of Turkey's growth has come from billions of dollars in government spending.

Erdogan challenged international financial markets by restating his strong opposition to increasing interest rates. Often central banks increase interest rates to keep the exchange value of a currency from falling.

Without an increase in interest rates, the lira will continue to depreciate, and the value of the lira will be set by international investors, Demir said.

Since the start of the year, the exchange value of the lira has fallen over seven percent compared to the dollar.

Last week, the lira fell sharply after reports that Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek had resigned after an angry telephone call with Erdogan over interest rate policy.

Simsek is responsible for the economy. Experts say he is important in keeping the confidence of financial markets in Turkey because he formerly worked for the investment bank Goldman Sachs. Some in Ankara say Simsek later agreed to stay in his job after heavy government pressure.

But with presidential and general elections upcoming in 2019, a growing economy is important to Erdogan and his ruling AKP Party's re-election chances.

Abdulkadir Selvi is a writer and presidential expert for the Hurriyet newspaper. Earlier this week, he wrote, "He [Erdogan] knows the way to win the election is by improving the economic situation." Selvi added, "That is why he declared 2018 as the year of performance, growth and employment."

Market expert Atilla Yesilada is with the business support company Global Source Partners. He said Erdogan’s party has nothing but economic growth to offer after abandoning human rights and modern democracy. Without economic growth measures, the economy will slow and they will not win re-election, he said.

But a falling currency brings other economic risks. Experts warn that sharp currency decreases usually hurt consumer confidence and lead to less spending on goods and services. That causes economic growth to slow.

A greater threat faced by Turkey is debt.

Two of Turkey’s largest companies have been seeking to re-organize $12 billion in bank loans. International investors are watching Turkish banks. They want to know about the quality of loans they have provided and whether borrowers are still making payments.

Yesilada explained that the government, the banks and the companies agree that the system must continue, so nobody will declare that there is a problem.

Turkish bank stocks continue to lose value and are now at their lowest level in nine years. However, most experts believe that the banking system is still strong.

But some market experts warn that banks may reduce their lending in the future. Such a move would likely affect growth.

Demir said Erdogan and his government's push for growth could end in failure. He said that if investors continue to sell the Turkish lira, it will hurt companies that have loans, forcing them to cut back on workers and investment, and that will lead to much slower growth.

I’m Susan Shand


Dorian Jones reported this story for VOA. Susan Shand adapted the report for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.

 


Words in This Story


disappoint – v. to make (someone) unhappy by not being as good as expected or by not doing something that was hoped for or expected

jealous – adj. feeling or showing an unhappy or angry desire to have what someone else has

challenge – v. something that causes something else to happen, develop, or become more active

currency – n. the money that a country use

depreciate –v. to lose value

confidence – n. a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something

abandon – v. to leave and never return to

consumer – n. one who buys things




往期回顾:

VOA As It Is: US House Speaker Announces His Retirement

VOA As It Is: Trump Threatens Missile Strike to Answer Attack...

VOA As It Is: As Europe's Prisons Fill Up, France Tries a ...

VOA As It Is: What Is Attorney-Client Privilege?


VOA As It Is: National Guard Deployed to U.S.-Mexico Border...


VOA As It Is: Trump Considering Action to Answer Suspected...

VOA As It Is: Facebook Tells Users Whether Private Data Shared

VOA As It Is: Trump, China Criticize Opposing Trade Actions

VOA As It Is:Federal Investigators Raid Office of Trump's Lawyer


Spies Target US Colleges, Universities

Robots Could Take Jobs from Africans, Researchers Warn

Some US Cities, States Start Efforts to Prevent Deportations

Abused Chimpanzees Find Home in Sierra Leone Wildlife Refuge


Congolese Refugees Learn to Live in US with Help, But for...

Argentina’s Farmers, Economy Hit Hard by Drought

More Americans Are Moving to Texas

Aid Groups Send North Korea a Message, Aid in a Bottle



Former South Korean President Park Sentenced to 24 Years

Bollywood’s Salman Khan Found Guilty in Poaching Case

NASA's Juno Spacecraft Shows the Makeup of Jupiter

US Suspects Listening Devices in Washington


Presidents of Russia, Turkey, Iran Meet on Syria

China Answers US With $50 Billion in Tariffs


Independent Chefs Exchange Ideas

Remembering Their Father, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Migrants Bring Attention to US-Mexican Border Policies

Cooking Classes Aim to Restore Health After Addiction

Thousands of US Teachers Strike to Demand Higher Pay

Central American Migrants Bring Attention to US-Mexican Border Policies



还没听够看够?关注本公众号(漂泊者乐园微信公众号),定期收听收查看各种精彩内容。跑步入场还不晚哦。

(学习交流微信:littleflute)


特别说明:

A. 如果您想收听全部中级美国英语内容,有两种方法:

(1) 在漂泊者乐园微信公众号回复:zjmgyy 

(2)点击左下角的 阅读原文 。

B. 本平台(漂泊者乐园微信公众号)会不定期推送各种各样的在线资源,为了不错过收听查看机会,建议广大亲朋好友们关注本公众号(漂泊者乐园微信公众号)

C. 本平台(漂泊者乐园微信公众号)主要推送以下几类资讯:

(1)各种英语学习资料。

(2)各种音乐学习资料。

(3)各种中国象棋学习资料。

(4)各种计算机学习资料。

(5)各种电子图书。

(6)各种MP3,MP4等音像资源。

D. 本平台(漂泊者乐园微信公众号)诚招合作者。有意者请联系 微信:littleflute。



: . Video Mini Program Like ,轻点两下取消赞 Wow ,轻点两下取消在看

您可能也对以下帖子感兴趣

文章有问题?点此查看未经处理的缓存