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Turkey and the IMF: the beginning of a new era Wednesday′s call for the suspension of prolonged talks over a possible stand-by deal by both the Turkish government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is considered a breakthrough in the Turkish economy, marking the beginning of a new era in 49 years of relations with the fund, observers agree.	OECD calls for Turkey to cut incentives for early retirement Turkey’s path to long-term growth requires major and politically difficult reforms, including the elimination of incentives for early retirement and the introduction of legislation to foster temporary employment, says the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
15 more Turks make Forbes’ billionaires list to hit 28 Internationally acclaimed finance and economics magazine Forbes revealed its billionaires’ list yesterday, with 28 Turks making the cut, up 15 from last year.	İstanbul’s outlying districts come to fore with new developments With recent investment projects and more to come, İstanbul’s Pendik, Şerifali, Çekmeköy, Bayrampaşa and Silivri districts have attracted a great deal of attention as regions with potential for further development in the near future, despite being located at a distance from the city center, a recent survey has shown.

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Report: Airbus, engine group seek damages A German newspaper reports that Airbus’ military arm and the engine-making consortium for the A400M transporter plane are seeking hundreds of millions of euros from each other in a dispute over delays to the project.	Yıldız: New working group to decide fate of nuclear plants Natural Resources and Energy Minister Taner Yıldız has expressed his ministry’s determination to build Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, stating that a new working group will start to draw up an internal report to assess the viability of progressing in the regions under consideration.
Current account deficit multiplies sixfold to $2.96 billion in January Turkey’s current account deficit totaled $2.96 billion in the first month of the year, up from $491 million in the same month of the previous year, representing a more than sixfold surge.	Dinçer: Occupational accidents cost Turkey TL 4 billion Labor and Social Security Minister Ömer Dinçer has said that the cost of occupational accidents is estimated to be TL 4 billion a year, a figure expected to be reduced with the introduction of new projects to improve working practices.

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Greece hit by strikes over austerity measures Greek police fired tear gas to disperse protesters throwing rocks and firebombs outside Parliament as more than 20,000 people marched through central Athens during a nationwide strike against the government’s harsh new austerity measures.	TÜPRAŞ enjoys 88 percent increase in 2009 net profit Turkey’s largest oil refining company, the Turkish Petroleum Refineries Corporation (TÜPRAŞ), announced a dramatic increase of 88 percent in their 2009 net profit over the previous year, the company said on Wednesday.
Stand-by deal between Turkey, IMF unlikely as parties call off talks Two separate statements released early Wednesday by the Turkish Treasury and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announcing a suspension in talks over a stand-by deal until May have raised doubts that the long-expected agreement will actually be realized.	Political turmoil currently on minds of investors in Turkey International investors see Turkish political climate as deterrent, survey shows International investors in Turkey are looking forward to a mostly stable first half of the year but are see domestic political turmoil as one of the most adverse developments to affect foreign direct investment (FDI).