Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio.

I'm your host, Jason Palmer.

Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

As if dating wasn't hard enough, try it during a pandemic.

Like everything else, it's gone virtual.

Of course, for many, the early stages of dating already were.

But it seems some would-be love birds in lockdown are forging deeper, more emotionally intimate links.

And plenty of work has gone into finding out how the coronavirus made the jump from animals into humans.

But what if humans are just the next link in the chain?

Our primate cousins could well be at risk from the same kind of leap.

But first...

Like other countries, Turkey's economy has been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

So, to boost growth, the country's central bankers have pursued a familiar strategy, cutting interest rates.

And 9th consecutive cut is expected later today.

That will please President Rechet Tiam Erdogan, who once called interest rates the mother of all evil.

But it'll also put additional pressure on the country's currency.

Earlier this month, the Lira fell to its lowest level ever against the dollar.

With Turkey bracing for its second recession in two years, the fear is that misguided monetary policy could make a fragile situation worse.

The Lira has, at this point, lost just over 12% of its value against the dollar so far this year.

Piotr Zalewski is the economist's Turkey correspondent.

And that is the most among big commodity-importing emerging markets.

And so why is the Lira having such a hard time right now?

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