Press Review 16/12/2016

Place of Azerbaijan as a leader in the region, raising the discount rate of the dollar and its impact on the manat, and problems of the economy are the leading topics of today's press.

The newspaper Azerbaijan continues to write about the leadership of Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus, its place and role in the region. The newspaper writes that Azerbaijan's budget is 4 times greater than that of Armenia and 2.5 times more than in Georgia.

The website Azadliq.info writes about the latest increase in dollar interest rates, which affects the manat. Experts believe that the demand for the dollar will rise. In addition, this decision will have a significant impact on the reserves of the Central Bank. The government should find a solution to stimulate the economy.

Novoye Vremya has published an article about the unreasonable spending of petrodollars. The figures confirm the decline in living standards of the population, and especially the poor and the most vulnerable ones.

In 2014, the population of Azerbaijan purchased goods totaling 22 billion manat, and last year - 25 billion 721 million manat. Almost 50% of the costs are for food that speaks of the poverty.

Yeni Musavat is discussing the situation in the country with the economist Gubad Ibadoglu. According to him, decline is observed both in the GDP and the non-oil GDP. The expert also analyzes the Federal Reserve System's decision to increase the discount rate of the dollar.