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Turkey’s inflation rate has fallen below 50 per cent for the first time in more than a year, underscoring how President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s economic turnaround programme is succeeding in slowing runaway price growth.

Consumer prices rose 49 per cent in September from the same month in 2023, below the previous month’s rate of 52 per cent and the slowest pace since July 2023, Turkey’s statistical institute said on Thursday.

Inflation is now lower than the central bank’s policy rate of 50 per cent, meaning so-called real interest rates have turned positive for the first time since 2021, according to FactSet data.

The slowdown in inflation and flip higher in real rates underscore how authorities are making progress in turning around Turkey’s $1tn economy following a series of sweeping policy U-turns that began after Erdoğan’s re-election in May 2023.

While Erdoğan had previously championed an idiosyncratic policy of holding rates low at all costs, Turkey has since imposed painful austerity measures including higher rates and taxes in a bid to control runaway prices.

Finance minister Mehmet Şimşek, who has vowed to restore “rational” economic policymaking, said Thursday’s data was evidence that “reducing inflation will not only solve the problem of the cost of living, but will also permanently increase the welfare of our citizens”.

Erdoğan’s previous policy had caused major imbalances in Turkey’s economy, with inflation having peaked above 85 per cent in 2022.

He added fuel to the overheating economy prior to the May 2023 general election with massive stimulus measures, including a month of free gas for households and increases in the minimum wage and public sector salaries.

Consumers attempted to shield their savings by purchasing goods such as appliances and cars, and moving funds into dollars and euros, which widened the current account deficit and eroded the central bank’s foreign currency reserves.

The Turkish president changed course following his re-election, conceding that a more conventional economic policy was the only way to pull the country back from the brink of a worsening crisis.

Turkey’s central bank has increased its main interest rate more than 40 percentage points since the new programme began in June last year. Şimşek has employed a range of measures, including petrol tax rises, in an attempt to reduce inflation, narrow the current account deficit and rebuild central bank foreign currency reserves.

The new measures have helped woo international investors who had fled Turkey’s markets in recent years. Turkey last week sold its biggest ever dollar-denominated bond.

The turn higher in real rates is a key achievement for Şimşek’s programme. Economic officials are betting that positive real interest rates will help ease some of the economic imbalances by heightening the allure of holding funds in Turkish savings accounts rather than utilising goods and foreign currencies as a store of value.

Despite the progress, investors and analysts say Turkish policymakers have a long way to go before the economy returns to a steadier footing. They are also concerned about how long Erdoğan will stick with the new programme, which has dented his popularity since many Turks are still not feeling the benefits of easing inflation.

Erdoğan’s political party faced its biggest-ever defeat in local elections this March, with the economy playing a key role in the poor performance. But analysts say authorities are betting that slower price rises will ease the pressure on the government, with the next round of general elections set for 2028.

“The tightening of financial conditions and monetary policy is beginning to contribute to the return to a disinflationary path,” said Istanbul-based economist Haluk Bürümcekçi.

Notorious outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were known to frequent Shreveport between crime sprees. The last visit was days before the pair were killed.

The Beginning Of The End for Bonnie and Clyde in Shreveport

Bonnie and Clyde’s last trip to Shreveport was in late May 1934, when they stopped for lunch at the Majestic Cafe. According to the late Eric Brock, the local authorities and the FBI were tracking their movements in Shreveport. Clyde was seen in Shreveport in early 1934 but the newspapers didn’t report it because they didn’t want to tip the couple off.

That last day in Shreveport, as usual, Clyde had an accomplice go in and get their food since they feared being recognized. This time, their accomplice was Henry Methvin. While parked in front waiting in the stolen tannish grey Ford V-8 “Fordor Deluxe,” a Shreveport Police car pulled up beside them. The two officers in the car were unaware that they were just a few feet from the infamous outlaws.  This spooked Clyde, who quickly drove off. Henry saw them leave and ran out without paying for the food.

Some reports say Henry was arrested on the spot, while others say he got away and went to his family’s farm in Bienville Parish outside of Gibsland. This is where the gang had previously arranged to meet if they were separated. (This happened two days before the ambush.)

As everyone probably knows, this is when Hamer and his men met with Ivy Methvin and set up the ambush. Ivy agreed with the stipulation that his son, Henry, would not be in the car when it happened. Hamer then set up the ambush on the road outside of Gibsland, leading to Methvin’s property, where Hamer and his men ended Bonnie and Clyde’s crime spree with a hail of bullets.

If you want to see a really good movie about the tracking and eventual end to Bonnie and Clyde, we highly recommend watching The Highwaymen with Kevin Costner. Part of that movie was filmed in Shreveport.

The Majestic Cafe and Bonnie and Clyde

As we stated before, that cafe was the Majestic Café located at 422 Milam in downtown Shreveport. It would later become Dehan’s then Panos. The building still stands today! Even though the building is mostly gutted inside, you can still see the letters Panos’ on the front window!

The search is on

For years, we’ve heard about the Majestic Cafe but never seen pictures of it (or so we thought). The other day, while we were on 710 KEEL, Mike Martindale brought up Panos Diner and talked about it once being the Majestic Cafe and about the Bonnie and Clyde story.

After we left, we wondered if we had accidentally come across a picture of it during our research and never realized it. We remembered that some photos from the Winston Conway Link collection he had loaned us years ago might show it. As we were flipping through those photos, we saw a picture of the Johnson building that photographer Max Autrey took.

It was taken in the 1920s at 10:45 a.m. (we know the exact time because a clock is visible in the window of the Boss and Sprouse Office on the right). The Majestic Cafe sign on the bottom left-hand side of the photo didn’t stick out at first, but when we looked closely, we were shocked. There it was in black-and-white, the Majestic Café, and what is a bonus is seeing all of the old vehicles parked around it.

Another Majestic Cafe photo found

We knew we just had to have at least one more photo of it, so we typed in “Milam Street” on our computer, and it pulled up all the photos that we had named Milam Street that we had found over the years (naming each photo helps us greatly when we are putting posts together).

One of the many photos it pulled was from the Grabill collection at the NWLA. It was a photo taken around the same place where Max Autrey’s photo was taken, but Grabill took his picture in the 1920s. In his image, you can also see the Majestic Café

We had looked at this photo hundreds of times over the years and never noticed the café. These are the only two photos that we have ever seen of the Majestic Café! Both photos were taken years before Bonnie and Clyde’s last visit, but it’s cool that we found what has to be rare photos of the cafe. If there are others out there, we haven’t been able to find them!

Bonnie and Clyde were two blocks from hundreds of law enforcement in Shreveport.

We had to add this. We have walked all over downtown Shreveport during our research in the past eight years, so we feel like we know it like the back of our hands. While putting together this story, it hit us! Of all the places in town for Bonnie and Clyde to stop to grab something to eat, they pick a cafe that’s 1/2 a block from the Caddo Parish Courthouse, two blocks from the Municipal City Courthouse on Cotton at McNeil (which housed the Police Station) and two blocks away from the Shreveport Municipal City Hall that was on the same street (Milam).

That area would have been swarming with law enforcement and city employees! That’s why it’s totally believable that two Shreveport police officers pulled up beside Clyde‘s car at the café, thus spooking Clyde to leave Methvin. This started the chain of events that led to the outlaw’s eventual demise.

Coincidentally, when Texas Ranger Frank Hamer came to Shreveport in late May (around the time of the café incident) to track the outlaws, he stayed at the Inn Hotel which also was on the same street (Milam) and was only two blocks from the Majestic Café. Hamer could have stood in the street in front of the Inn Hotel and seen the Majestic Café. That two-block area of downtown Shreveport was probably the worst place for them to stop that day! Bonnie and Clyde were either very bold or not too bright!

The photographer who took the photos of the Johnson Building (and the Majestic Cafe) in the 1920s was none other than Max Autrey who was from Shreveport and at one time was the Hollywood photographer to the stars. He was the chief photographer for Fox Studios back in the day among many other studios.

History Corner is produced in partnership with Mark and Mike Mangham of Twin Blends: Northwest Louisiana History Hunters

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Where Bonnie and Clyde’s last days in Shreveport.

Over the past 75 years the South Bank has established itself as one of London’s most vibrant art and culture quarters, founded upon its collection of landmark postwar institutions, including the Royal Festival Hall and the National Theatre. But more recently, the South Bank has begun to assert itself as an enticing place to live, with the arrival of major developments such as Southbank Place and now Bankside Yards, which is just getting under way. 

The postwar story of the neighbourhood, which I have explored in a new book, was one of London’s greatest success stories in terms of urban renewal. The question now is: can the story of the South Bank move on to such acclaim? 

With their County of London Plan, urban planners Patrick Abercrombie and J.H. Forshaw first marked out the South Bank as a prime site for a new cultural campus, with its collection of “people’s palaces”, back in 1943. They saw that this bomb-damaged area was exceptionally well connected, being a short walk from The Strand or Covent Garden just across the Thames, and close to major rail and Tube stations, as well as being well-served by the river itself. It was also conveniently located next to County Hall, the offices of the old London County Council (LCC), whose politicians, planners and architects would play an important part in the evolution of the South Bank over the coming decades. 

Fortunately for the South Bank, the idea of a new cultural campus coincided with a grand plan for a Festival of Britain in 1951, a national celebration of British identity and postwar revival. The Royal Festival Hall — designed by LCC architects Leslie Martin, Robert Matthew and their team — formed the one permanent and enduring legacy of the extraordinary South Bank Exhibition, and the following 25 years saw the South Bank turn into a microcosm encapsulating the evolution of Britain’s mid-century modern architecture, charting the rise of brutalism, as seen in the Hayward Gallery, Queen Elizabeth Hall and — eventually — Denys Lasdun’s National Theatre, which opened in 1976. It was a long and fascinating journey.

There are some contentious new developments here that underline the sensitivities around the evolution of the setting. Chief among them is the redevelopment of the old LWT and ITV Studios complex by Make Architects, now known as 72 Upper Ground, which could see two new office towers, the tallest 26 storeys high, sitting on a prominent site overlooking — and dwarfing — the National Theatre, as well as Lasdun’s listed IBM Building, which is currently being upgraded. Critics of the scheme, which was approved earlier this year but is subject to an upcoming judicial review, want to see any new design “protect and enhance rather than dominate its surroundings”. 

The new tower blocks “would overshadow London’s favourite passeggiata,” argues Michael Ball from the Save our South Bank action group. The 20th Century Society’s Coco Whittaker adds that the organisation has no issues with the principle of redeveloping the site but that it “strongly disapprove[s] of the approach adopted in the consented development”, including concerns related to its “scale and massing” on the riverfront. 

But projects such as the Southbank Place development, which is nearing completion, have proved less controversial in their mission to introduce much needed homes into the area. A master plan by Squire & Partners adds office space and around 880 new apartments — of which 98 will be available at “intermediate” rent, 70 will be “affordable” homes and 19 will be private homes for sale by Lambeth Council — across multiple new buildings alongside the Shell Centre. The seven new towers have been designed by a collective that also includes Patel Taylor, Stanton Williams, GRID Architects and interior architects Johnson Naylor. 

One reason for this might be that the new mixed-use schemes “build upon the regeneration that the Festival of Britain ignited,” as architect Tim Gledstone, partner at Squire promises. Fewer heritage considerations and constraints on the site, he says, “allows for the emergence of a new London vernacular with international ambition”. The new towers of Southbank Place sit between the listed mid-century icons upon the riverside and Waterloo Station, and arguably help to tie the neighbourhood together. They also bring a new sense of character to the South Bank’s previously unloved hinterland. 

The Festival of Britain and the people’s palaces along the river have been a key influence. GRID referenced graphic designer Abram Games’ famous Festival Star — as seen on the 1951 Exhibition catalogue and elsewhere — in the design of the facades for the Belvedere Gardens residential towers at Southbank Place. Meanwhile, Fiona Naylor at Johnson Naylor found multiple sources of local inspiration, including the spiral staircases of the Southbank Centre, the influence of which can be seen in her stairs leading from the lobby to the residents lounge at Southbank Place. 

Naylor has form in the area. She collaborated with Kohn Pedersen Fox on the interiors of the nearby Southbank Tower, an imaginative conversion, extension and retrofit of mid-century architect Richard Seifert’s King’s Reach Tower office block, which marked the beginning of the fresh injection of residential space into the neighbourhood when it was completed back in 2016. 

The Bankside Yards development further along the river, which will be mixed use, including apartments and a new Mandarin Oriental hotel, promises to anchor itself in the local design language too. As well as repurposing many of the area’s railway arches at street level, Bankside Yards will offer eight new buildings, four of which will be residential. Working to a master plan by PLP Architecture, the architectural team here includes Stiff + Trevillion, Gillespies and Make. 

The first residential building will be the 50-storey Opus, designed by PLP, which will be the tallest residential building in central London upon completion in 2026, sitting within a cluster of taller structures that have grown up around the junction of the South Bank and Bankside. “Its form tapers as it rises upward . . . and the tripartite plan allows us to create as many as seven corner units on a single floor, which are spatially different and have floor-to-ceiling windows,” says architect and founding partner of PLP, Lee Polisano, of Opus. He “I feel this is just the beginning of the South Bank as a neighbourhood, but its success will depend on . . . creating truly mixed-use communities.” 

A new chapter is being written for the South Bank, with many twists and turns, as the battle over 72 Upper Ground suggests. It’s a delicate balancing act: protecting the mid-century history, while reinvigorating the area with fresh homes — and combining retrofits with new additions. The end result needs to preserve the essential character of this unique enclave, which has — slowly but surely — won the hearts of so many Londoners.

South Bank: Architecture & Design, by Dominic Bradbury & Rachael Smith, will be published by Batsford later this month

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ZeroKey has brought on board former FE fundinfo head of proposition Stephen Mitchell in an advisory role.

He previously spent 18 years at FE fundinfo and spanned both the asset management and financial advice sides of the business, including FE Analytics and FE CashCalc.

Since leaving FE fundinfo earlier this year he has taken a variety of advisory roles, which he will combine with his latest role with ZeroKey.

ZeroKey co-founder and chief executive Joseph Williams said: “Steve is a big believer in how 1% improvements can all add up to make a significant difference.

“His approach is therefore completely aligned to what we are seeking to achieve with ZeroKey, but more importantly Steve brings with him vast knowledge and experience, and will inject an exciting dynamic into the team.”

Mitchell added: “I passionately believe in the theory that the aggregation of marginal gains can slowly but surely transform our profession and help to close the advice gap.

“So as soon as I heard what Joe [Williams] and Matt [Wiltshire] were up to, I was keen to get involved. They are a formidable team and I’m very excited by what’s to come.”

The news of Mitchell joining ZeroKey comes shortly after the publication of NextWealth’s latest research, which highlighted integration between systems is still a significant pain point and re-keying data is a major source of frustration.

This further added to the findings published independently by Intelliflo and FE fundinfo earlier this year and original research by Origo and the Lang Cat in 2019.

ZeroKey is currently available to use in beta mode.

This includes integrations with both Intelliflo and Iress, as well as ‘quick actions’ into FE CashCalc, Voyant, 7IM, Fidelity, Fintegrate, Fundment, Oxford Risk, Transact, Aviva, Timeline, Mabel Insights, M&G and Abrdn.

A ‘quick action’ is a feature that is designed to help streamline repetitive tasks, such as manually keying client details into a platform.

HOLIDAYMAKERS travelling to the Balearic Islands will see the tourist tax rise next year.

In a bid to combat overtourism, local government officials in the Balearics announced a tourist tax rise.

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Brit holidaymakers heading to Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera will pay more tourist tax in June, July and August.

While the exact figure hasn’t been announced, the tourist tax in the high season is set to increase, according to the Balearic President, Marga Prohens.

The new measure, which has been dubbed an “eco-tax” was announced during the General Policy Debate of the Community.

Local government officials have yet to determine the exact increase in tourist charges.

This is because the Balearic Government is looking for formulas so that residents will not pay the “eco-tax” through tax deductions.

Tourist tax charges during the low season (December, January and February) could be reduced in a bid to encourage more visitors to the islands in the colder months of the year.

It is not yet known if the low-season tourist charge will remain at its present level (making it lower than the proposed charge) or be reduced further.

Visitors to the Spanish islands currently have to pay the same level of tourist tax throughout the whole year, whether low or high season.

Current tourist charges cost anything up to €5 a night extra, payable on arrival, depending on the quality of the accommodation.

Balearic President, Marga Prohens also announced other tourist restrictions, such as limiting the number of rental properties for holidaymakers.

All new tourist rental places in all multi-family homes are set to be banned as part of the tourism measures.

Properties that already rent to tourists won’t be impacted by the announcement.

In a statement, Marga Prohens added: “The discomfort of residents due to the externalities of tourism is increasingly unanimous and transversal.

“This summer‘s demonstrations are a test, and we cannot put ourselves in profile because we listen to everyone.”

Despite the measures, the Balearic President stressed the importance of the tourism sector for the islands, by adding: “we are a hospitable land where tourists are welcome”.

A law is set to be approved in February, which will bring the measures into force.

The news comes after a series of anti-tourism protests took place on the Balearic Islands throughout the summer.

In May, over 15,000 locals took to the streets in Palma, Majorca to campaign against tourists visiting the island.

OTHER TOURIST CHARGES

Earlier this year, Greece introduced a new levy for overnight visitors in a bid to combat the damage caused by extreme weather conditions.

Holidaymakers traveling to Greece during the high season (from March to October) are required to pay an additional tax on overnight stays.

Just like the previous tax, the rate will vary depending on the type of accommodation tourists have booked, and it will range from €1 (£0.86) to €4 (£3.45) per night.

The new tax will be added to the country’s existing accommodation tax, with charges rising as a result.

All holidaymakers heading to Tunisia will be forced to pay a new tourist tax under plans outlined by the country’s government.

Meanwhile, this popular tourist destination is also planning to increase its daily tourist charge.

And this UK seaside town became the first to tax tourists this year.

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