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WASHINGTON, January 9, 2014 (AFP) – An American jailed for nine months in the United Arab Emirates for making a spoof YouTube video mocking Dubai teenagers returned home Thursday, comparing the experience to being in a “cage.” Being back on American soil “feels great,” Shezanne Cassim, 29, told an impromptu press conference just a few […]
Cricket: Ton-up Jayawardene gives Sri Lanka upper hand
DUBAI, January 9, 2014 (AFP) – Mahela Jayawardene defied a left-hand webbing injury to notch his 32nd century and Kaushal Silva missed his by five runs as Sri Lanka gained an upper hand over Pakistan in the second Test in Dubai on Thursday.Pakistan’s bowling woes were highlighted by Ajmal’s failure for a second successive innings. […]
US war crimes envoy visits Sri Lanka site
COLOMBO, January 9, 2014 (AFP) – A top US official investigating war crimes has visited a former Sri Lankan battleground where hundreds of families were killed in army shelling, the US embassy said Thursday, triggering an angry response from Colombo. The US Ambassador for Global Criminal Justice Stephen Rapp spent Wednesday and Thursday travelling in […]
Sri Lanka targets US$2.5bn in FDI in 2014
Jan 10, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is targeting 2.5 billion US dollars in foreign direct investors in 2014 with 2013 estimated to have drawn about 1.3 billion US dollars, a minister said. Investment promotions minister Lakshman Abeywardene said FDI inflows had reached 870 million US dollars by September and full year data was still […]
Sri Lanka new 5-year sovereign bond pricing will help private firms: Standard Chartered
Jan 08, 2014 (LBO) – A 6.0 percent benchmark yield on a billion US dollar sovereign bond will help corporates seeking foreign finance this year, Standard Chartered Bank said. The bond was lead managed latest sovereign bond was managed by Citi, HSBC, Standard Chartered and UBS. Sri Lanka sold the bond following some uncertainty in […]
Sri Lanka stocks close up 0.2-pct
Jan 09, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks end 0.25 percent higher Thursday with tobacco and diversified stocks gaining, brokers said. The Colombo benchmark All Share Price Index closed 14.87 points higher at 6,069.34, up 0.25 percent. The S&P SL20 closed 12.08 points higher at 3,362.39, up 0.36 percent. Turnover was 1.57 billion rupees, up […]
Sri Lanka thermal energy generation up
Jan 09, 2014 (LBO) – Thermal generation at Sri Lanka’s state-run power utility has reached 70 percent with a sharp drop in cheap hydro generation amid dry weather, official data shows.On January 07, Ceylon Electricity Board generated 69.9 percent of its daily 32.5 GigaWatts (millions of units of electricity) from thermal sources with hydro at […]
Sri Lanka Treasuries yields drop
Jan 08, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Treasuries yields dropped across maturities at Wednesday’s auction with the 12-month yield falling 53 basis points to 7.42 percent, data from the state debt office showed.The 3-month yield fell 42 basis points to 7.00 percent and the 6-month yield dropped 33 basis points to 7.20 percent. The state […]
Sri Lanka gilt-backed yields drop ahead of auction
Jan 08, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s secondary market gilt-backed yields have dropped sharply ahead of a Treasuries auction Wednesday and the arrival of proceeds of a sovereign bond next week, dealers said.There has been direct state borrowing from banks, especially to fund roads, instead of relying only on Treasury bills, which analysts say may […]
Sri Lanka stocks surge 1.2-pct
Jan 08, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks surged 1.2 percent higher Wednesday as interest rates continued to fall, extending gains from a day earlier, brokers said. The Colombo benchmark All Share Price Index closed 77.40 points higher at 6,054.47, up 1.29 percent. The S&P SL20 closed 49.86 points higher at 3,350.31, up 1.51 percent. […]