Moody's

İzmir Mayor Aziz Kocaoğlu describes his Aegean city as "Turkey's window to the West." One would like to think that in these days, when the European Parliament has recommended freezing accession talks with Turkey, there is still a window opening to the West on this land. 

The international agency Moody's has confirmed Bulgaria's credit rating and a stable outlook.

"The strong fiscal position, stable economy and broad agenda for reform in Bulgaria maintain the credit rating of the country at a Baa2 level with a stable outlook," read the annual report of Moody's, cited by BTA.

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has slammed the Moody's decision to downgrade Turkey's credit rating at a moment when the Turkish economy is growing. 

Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said the July 15 coup attempt was not the main cause behind the Moody's rating downgrade but rather that ongoing structural problems were to blame, adding that Turkey would overcome these issues and make efforts to address structural problems rather than succumb to emotions after the downgrade.

A senior representative from Japan Credit Rating JCR has said Turkey still preserves its investable position, opposing the general sentiment following the rating cut by Moody's, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported. 

Moody's lowered Turkey's credit rating to "junk" level late on Sept. 23, despite its earlier decision after the bloody coup attempt of July 15 that it would wait and monitor developments for three months before making a final decision.

Everyone agrees that if the coup attempt on July 15 had succeeded, Turkey's economy would have gone into a tailspin. The steps taken by the government under its "emergency rule," however, also appear to be achieving the same result. 

Credit ratings agency Moody's has downgraded Turkey's sovereign credit rating to non-investment grade.

What does that mean? This is an issue for economists and I am not an economist.

So why am I writing about this subject? I do so because I find the statement after the decision by Mehmet Şimşek, the deputy prime minister responsible for the economy, very important.

The shock to Turkey's economy from the failed July 15 coup has largely dissipated, ratings agency Moody's said on Sept. 21, adding it expected to conclude its rating review of the country within the next month.

The credit profiles of most non-Turkish companies from the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region with operations in Turkey will be largely unaffected by the political uncertainty in the country, Moody's Investors Service said in a report on Sept. 5.