All Blogs
Sri Lanka stocks extend losses
June 08, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares fell for the third straight day closing 0.5 percent lower Wednesday on retail profit taking and speculative trading dominated volume, brokers said. The main All Share Price Index closed at 7,257.70, down 0.51percent (36.84 points) while the Milanka Index of liquid ended the day down 0.24 percent […]
Credit Approvals
June 08, 2011 (LBO) – DFCC, a development finance institution (DFI) that also owns a commercial banking subsidiary said its credit approvals soared 117 percent in 2010 to 33 billion rupees amid lower interest rates though there was a lag in the drawdown of larger project loans. “¦[D]isbursements especially relating to larger projects tended to […]
Dubai looks to bag top spot as tea goes green
DUBAI, June 8, 2011 (AFP) – Exotic and organic teas are wooing tea drinkers and challenging traditional black tea’s dominance as never before, tea industry experts say, as a tea factory in Dubai bids to become the world’s largest. The shift in global tea-drinking trends is felt at the Jebel Ali Free Zone, despite it […]
Retirement Debate
June 08, 2011 (LBO) – Much has been written about the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed Employment Pension Benefits Fund. The bill was to affect the lives of the majority of Sri Lankans. First a white paper should have made available for public discussion and debate prior to its presentation in Parliament. When the […]
Outsourced Work
June 08, 2011 (LBO) – R R Donnelley has opened a third business process outsourcing facility in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo as business grows with the end of the island’s ethnic war. The company, which now employs over 750 people in the island, plans to increase its workforce to over 1,000 by year-end, said […]
Matched Training
June 8, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run vocational school system is seeking closer links with the software and business process outsourcing firms to develop courses to suit the sector. The Vocational Training Authority (VTA), which is overseeing 275 centres which take in 20,000 students a year, said it is signing a deal with the […]
Pakistan ISI leaders had no role in Mumbai plot: court
CHICAGO, June 8, 2011 (AFP) – A Pakistan-born Chicago businessman was part of the “inner circle” of terrorists who plotted the 2008 Mumbai attacks, US prosecutors said in closing arguments Tuesday. Tahawwur Rana’s trial was closely watched as it touched on Pakistani military intelligence collusion with terrorism — a hugely sensitive subject since the killing […]
Sri Lankan Airlines to start Zurich flights
June 8, 2011 (LBO) – State-run national carrier SriLankan Airlines is re-starting services to Zurich in Switzerland which were stopped in 2005, expanding its network to 53 destinations in 34 countries, the airline said. The services will start from December 23, 2011 and run twice weekly on Monday and Friday. “This will significantly strengthen our […]
Sri Lankan shares end down 0.8-pct
June 07, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares fell for the second straight day Tuesday with money drained from the market by forthcoming share issues and heavy trading again in mini hydro firm Panasian Power and in rarely traded Hunter & Co. Blue Diamonds Jewellery Worldwide fell 10 cents to close at 4.80 rupees with […]
Glitzy Loans
June 07, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank plans to extend ‘gold loans’ through its branches country-wide offering higher advances and lower rates to encourage use of gold to raise funds. The bank will offer up to 80 percent of the gold value, in the form of jewellery, biscuits or bars, and an interest […]