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Turkey threatens credit rating agencies

Turkey’s top leaders have threatened to cancel the contracts of credit rating agencies Fitch and Moody’s as financial markets get nervous at the prospect of Turkey being downgraded.
Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan makes a speech during the Istanbul Finance Summit in Istanbul Septemer 16, 2014. Turkey stepped up its criticism of credit rating agencies on Tuesday, with President Tayyip Erdogan warning it could cut ties with Moody's and Fitch and his prime minister saying the country did not have the ratings it deserves. Deputy Prime Minister Babacan, who is responsible for overseeing the economy, joined the chorus, telling a finance conference in Istanbul that objective evalua
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As the clock ticks for crucial reviews of the Turkish economy by major credit raters, the country’s top leaders are already fuming at the agencies. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan set the tone last week, targeting Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service.

“Turkey faces no risk of an economic crisis. The [agencies’] statements are politically motivated. They are void of any economic and scientific basis,” Erdogan told journalists on a flight back from Qatar. “They’ve done it before, and I severed ties with Standard & Poor’s. If they go on with this attitude, I’ll tell the prime minister to sever ties with them as well. We’ve gained nothing from them. We owe them nothing for where we stand today. Both you and I are aware of what’s going on behind the curtains.”

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