28/07/2025

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | JULY 28, 2025

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Turkiye’s long-term debt rating upgraded by Moody’s ANKARA: Moody’s has raised Turkiye’s long-term debt rating one notch, from B1 to Ba3, with a stable outlook, though it remains in speculative territory, the rating agency said. Moody’s justified its decision by citing effective economic policies that have helped restore investor confidence in the Turkish lira. It also highlighted the central bank’s commitment to tight monetary policy that “durably eases inflationary pressures” and “reduces economic imbalances.” Inflation continued to slow slightly last month in Turkiye, reaching 35% year-on-year, according to official figures released early this month. It had exceeded 75% in May 2024 year-on-year, before slowing month after month. Moody’s said the government’s structural reforms – aimed at reducing energy dependence and boosting export competitiveness – could make the economy more resilient to external shocks. But the agency warned that limited foreign exchange reserves still leave Turkiye vulnerable to balance of payments shocks. The Turkish central bank cut its key interest rate from 46% to 43% last Thursday, a slightly larger-than-expected reduction. The institution began a series of rate cuts in December as inflation slowed, but on Thursday it predicted a temporary rebound in monthly inflation in July. In the longer term, it expects inflation to ease to 24% by the end of this year and 12% by the end of 2026. – AFP Women’s dating app Tea reports 72,000 images stolen NEW YORK: Tea, an app that lets women anonymously comment and review dates with men, said it has suffered a data breach, with hackers gaining access to 72,000 user images. A Tea spokesperson confirmed the hack to Reuters on Saturday, saying they had detected “unauthorised access to our systems” and about 72,000 images had been exposed, including 13,000 selfies and photo identifications submitted for account verification purposes, as well as 59,000 images from posts, comments, and direct messages. “We have engaged third-party cybersecurity experts and are working around the clock to secure our systems,” the company said in a statement, adding that no e-mails or phone numbers were exposed, and that only users who signed up before February 2024 were affected. The breach was first reported by 404 Media last week. The app, which says its motto is “women should never have to compromise their safety while dating”, is a platform where women who sign up and are approved after a verification process can anonymously share information about men they are interested in in Yelp-style reviews. It has gained increasing popularity, saying on Instagram that more than two million users in the past few days had asked to join the app. Signing up for Tea requires users to take selfies, which the app says are deleted after review. – Reuters

Members of the police standing near the clubhouse of Trump Turnberry resort. – REUTERSPIC

Trump, EU chief seek deal in tariffs standoff o American president says 50-50 chance of agreement

Should talks fail, EU states have greenlit counter tariffs on US$109 billion (RM460 billion) of American goods including aircraft and cars – to take effect in stages from Aug 7 – and Brussels is also drawing up a list of US services to potentially target. Beyond that, countries like France say Brussels should not be afraid to deploy a so-called trade “bazooka” to restrict access to its market and public contracts – but that would mark a major escalation with Washington. Trump has embarked since returning to power on a campaign to reshape US trade with the world. But polls at home suggest the American public is unconvinced by his strategy, with a recent Gallup survey showing his approval rating at 37% – down 10 points from January. Having promised “90 deals in 90 days”, Trump’s administration has so far unveiled five, including with Britain, Japan and the Philippines. In addition to bolstering his dealmaker credentials, a headline agreement with the EU could bring a welcome distraction from the scandal around Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy financier accused of sex trafficking who died in prison in 2019 before facing trial. In his heyday, Epstein was friends with Trump and others in the New York jet-set, but the president is now facing backlash from his own MAGA supporters demanding access to the case files. – AFP

TURNBERRY: President Donald Trump and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen meet today in Scotland in a decisive push to resolve a months-long transatlantic trade standoff – with the US leader putting the chances of a deal at one in two. The clock is ticking with Trump vowing to hit dozens of countries with punitive tariffs unless they hammer out a pact with Washington by Aug 1 – with the EU facing an across-the-board levy of 30%. Von der Leyen’s European Commission, negotiating on behalf of the EU’s 27 countries, has been pushing hard for a deal to salvage a trading relationship worth an annual €1.6 trillion (RM8 trillion) in goods and services. Brussels has coordinated closely with European capitals, whose diplomats are expected to meet swiftly to give their blessing to any deal struck at leader level – if indeed Trump and von der Leyen see eye to eye. The sit-down will take place in Turnberry, on Scotland’s southwestern coast – where Trump owns a luxury golf resort. The 79-year-old said on arrival last Friday he hoped to strike “the biggest deal of them all” with the EU. Referring to von der Leyen simply as “Ursula”, Trump praised her as “a highly respected woman” – a far cry from his

erstwhile hostility in accusing the EU of existing to “screw” the United States. “I think we have a good 50-50 chance” of a deal, said the president – citing sticking points on “maybe 20 different things”. The European Commission said last Thursday it believed a deal was “in reach”. According to European diplomats, the agreement on the table involves a baseline 15% levy on EU exports to the United States – the same level secured by Japan – with carve-outs for critical sectors including aircraft, lumber and spirits excluding wine. The EU would also commit to ramp up purchases of US liquefied natural gas, as one of a series of investment pledges. The European side was also hoping for a compromise on steel that could allow a certain quota to enter the United States, with amounts beyond that taxed at 50%. Hit by multiple waves of tariffs since Trump reclaimed the White House, the European Union is currently subject to a 25% levy on cars, 50% on steel and aluminium, and an across-the-board tariff of 10%, which Washington threatens to hike to 30% in a no-deal scenario. The EU has focused on getting a deal with Washington to avoid sweeping tariffs from further harming its sluggish economy, with retaliation held out as a last resort.