CB expected to hike interest rates

The Central Bank's Monetary Policy Committee, chaired by CB Governor Durmus Yilmaz, will convene today to discuss the possible economic fallout of a Constitutional Court ruling upholding the university headscarf ban. The CB is expected to raise short-term interest rates between 0.50-0.75 points. Industry Minister Zafer Caglayan last week expressed his opposition to CB rate hikes. Turkey will become the world's 10th-largest economy by 2023, Industry and Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan predicted yesterday. "Our goal is to see Turkey among the world's top 10 economies by 2023, when we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the republic," he told a group of ruling party members over the weekend. Pointing to changes Turkey is seeing in all sectors, Caglayan added, "Just five years ago, we were the world's 26th-largest economy. Now we've jumped to number 17."