All Blogs
Vehicle Trend
Aug 14, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s car registration have surged forward to a 15-month high of 2,305, up 74.6 percentfrom a year earlier, mostly driven by pre-registered cars, an analysis of data shows. But rulers gave state workers tax slashed permits most of which are now being sold to the more affluent ordinary citizens, […]
Spectator Port
Aug 14, 2013 (LBO) – Large crowds have surged to view a billion US dollar port expansion project in Sri Lanka after the state port agency opened its doors to the public, extending a deadline twice on popular appeal.The port had not seen by many people in Sri Lanka, as it was under tight security […]
Tight Quarter
Aug 14, 2013 (LBO) – Profits at Commercial Bank of Ceylon, Sri Lanka’s largest private lender fell 5.0 percent to 2.3 billion rupees in the June 2013 quarter, amid forex losses on foreign funding, interim accounts showed. The bank’s core capital adequacy rose to 13.85 percent to by June from 12.63 percent in December and […]
Gilt Glitter
Aug 14, 2013 (LBO) – Defaults in Sri Lanka’s gold-backed loans will grow and keeping defaulters out of a credit information system increases moral hazard by not discouraging default, an international credit rating agency said. Standard & Poor’s said in a report that defaults in gold-backed loans in banks covered by the agency was rising. […]
‘s Balangoda Plantations profits plunge 56-pct
Aug 14, 2013 (LBO) – Balangoda Plantations Plc, a tea farming company in Sri Lanka’s Stassen group said profits fell 56 percent to 45.7 million rupees in the June 2013 quarter from a year earlier. Sri Lanka’s tea companies have been facing higher wage costs and from around mid year production disruption due to heavy […]
Missing Probe
August 14, 2013 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president Wednesday ordered a new investigation into the disappearance of thousands of people in the island’s northeast during an ethnic war which ended four years ago.The announcement comes just days before UN human rights chief Navi Pillay is due to visit the island, amid international criticism of Colombo’s […]
Disruptive Tech
NEW YORK CITY, August 14, 2013 (AFP) – Having turned print media upside down, the Internet now is disrupting television, forcing broadcasters to adapt to tablets and video-on-demand to hold onto views and advertisers. Viacom and CBS have seen their income stemming from program distribution rights leap 28 and 22 percent respectively, due in part […]
World-first study tracks dwarf minke whales
SYDNEY, August 14, 2013 (AFP) – Dwarf minke whales have been tagged and tracked in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in a world-first pilot study which hopes to solve the mystery of where they spend the summer. Scientists at James Cook University in Queensland state are taking part in the project, also involving researchers from Alaska, […]
Indian minister says lives lost in submarine blast
NEW DELHI, August 14, 2013 (AFP) – India’s defence minister said Wednesday there were fatalities when a diesel-powered submarine exploded and sank at a dock in Mumbai. . “I feel sad about those navy personnel who have lost their lives in service of the country,” A.K Antony told reporters in New Delhi. The minister did […]
Sri Lanka stocks close up 0.2-pct
Aug 13, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s stocks closed up 0.21 percent Tuesday following with losses in the last few days with gains seen in the large cap stocks, brokers said. Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa has directed that the factory belonging to Dipped Products Plc, a unit of Sri Lanka’s Hayleys group be relocated […]