Turkey's president urges people to favor lira and gold to end 'tyranny of the dollar'

By Mehul Srivastava and Jonathan Wheatley
Financial Times, London
Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Emerging markets across the globe are already suffering because of an expected rise in US interest rates -- and few are feeling the pain more than Turkey. The country's currency has been plunging in the wake of the election of Donald Trump, who favors fiscal stimulus rather than ultra-low interest rates, and ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting next week that could raise benchmark rates for only the second time since the financial crisis.

In response, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on citizens' patriotism to foil the effect on the lira. He has exhorted them to break what he describes as the "tyranny of the dollar," asking people to stock up on the lira and gold instead and so defeat the "economic sabotage" perpetrated by the country's enemies.

Some businessmen have already responded to the leader's call by offering free bus rides or haircuts to those who have sold dollars. Turkish officials add that capital controls have been discussed -- but up to now rejected -- as a means of arresting the slide of the lira, down more than 10 percent against the dollar since Mr. Trump's election. ...

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https://www.ft.com/content/d923fcf2-bb15-11e6...45-b8b81dd5d080