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S&P dashes Turkey’s hopes, again

Standard & Poor's defies expectations for a positive revision of Turkey’s economic outlook, adding fresh chill to its troubled relations with Ankara.
A view shows the Standard & Poor's building in New York's financial district February 5, 2013. The U.S. government is seeking more than $5 billion in a lawsuit against rating agency Standard & Poor's over mortgage bond ratings, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on Tuesday. The civil suit against S&P and its parent McGraw-Hill Cos Inc is the first federal enforcement action against a credit rating agency over alleged illegal behavior related to the 2007-2009 U.S. financial crisis. REUTERS/Brendan McDerm
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Turkey’s relations with Standard & Poor’s (S&P) have been marred by tensions since 2012, when the credit-rating agency dealt Ankara a major blow. Here's the story of how the two sides became at loggerheads:

The Turkish economy grew 8.5% in 2011, the highest growth rate in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the second-highest after China in the G-20 group of industrialized nations. The government expected a rating upgrade. But in a move that shocked Ankara, S&P downgraded Turkey’s outlook from “positive” to “stable” on May 1, 2012. Government officials responded in the harshest terms, scrambling to punish S&P.

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