Down a dimly lit alleyway tucked just inside Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, a few dozen men are packed together, shouting, waving, and frantically speaking on their phones, others nervously pacing. This “standing market” — a low-rent version of a chaotic stock exchange floor — is where Istanbul’s traders come to deal in precious metals and currencies. These days it’s dollars and gold they’re after. Turkish lira, not so much. “Right now our money is almost worthless.
“With the bonus that I earn from the soccer, I am trying to buy some stuff for my kids, I am trying to fill in the refrigerator.” Stock market boom Kerim Rota, an independent economist, suggests that relying on credit cards is unsustainable. “The central bank increased the credit card rates last week, and it is now monthly 5%. means 80% as an annual rate… Nobody can afford that.” Local elections, highly contested, will be held on March 31.