All Blogs
New Ship
Aug 21, 2009 (LBO) – Mercantile Shipping Company, a listed company that once had Sri Lanka’s biggest fleet, has taken delivery of the first of a pair of new buildings it ordered built by a Dutch yard.The stock exchange filing showed a gross profit of 17 million rupees in international business in the June 2009 […]
Shake Up
Aug 21, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Nations Trust Bank, a unit of John Keells Holdings has shaken up the top management of the bank shortly after an 800 million rupee foreign exchange loss was discovered. The bank was also being probed by Sri Lanka’s securities watchdog. Update II Saliya Rajakaruna, retiring chief financial officer […]
Sri Lanka July tea crop down 11-pct
Aug 21, 2009 (LBO) – Production of Sri Lanka’s main export commodity, tea, remain well below last year’s level with the July output at 25.1 million kilos being 11 percent lower than the same month a year ago, brokers said. Tea production in other exporting countries is also down this year with the global shortfall […]
India should brace for swine flu pandemic: minister
NEW DELHI, August 21, 2009 (AFP) – India’s health minister warned Friday that the country of nearly 1.2 billion people must brace for a “large-scale” swine flu pandemic.Given the South Asian nation’s size “we shall have to be prepared much more than any other country in the world”, Ghulam Nabi Azad told a gathering of […]
India to tackle drought shortfalls with imports: minister
NEW DELHI, August 21, 2009 (AFP) – India will import lentils, edible oil and other staples to cope with any shortfalls caused by a widespread drought that has badly hurt crops, the finance minister said Friday.The statement by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee came as the country of nearly 1.2 billion people faces its weakest monsoon […]
Maldives to stop money printing under IMF deal
Aug 21, 2009 (LBO) – The Indian Ocean tourist paradise of Maldives will stop printing money to finance its budget deficit and cut state sector wages to stabilize its economy, International Monetary Fund has said. “Maldives is facing a difficult economic and fiscal situation,” IMF mission chief to the archipelago said in a statement. “The […]
Sri Lanka press for win as weather holds key
GALLE, August 21, 2009 (AFP) – Bad weather appeared the main stumbling block in Sri Lanka’s bid to win the first Test after illness-hit New Zealand were boxed into a corner on Friday.The tourists, set an improbable target of 413 following an unbeaten century by Tillakaratne Dilshan, plodded to 30-1 in 13 overs by stumps […]
US fund buys $875 Sri Lanka rupee bonds pushing reserves above $3bn: CB Governor
Aug 20, 2009 (LBO) – An 875 million US dollar inflow from a US-based fund will go into 4 and 6-year rupee bonds, helping push Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves above 3.0 billion dollars by Friday, Central Bank governor Nivard Cabraal said. The inflow will be directly matched with Treasury bonds and the Central Bank’s Treasury […]
Sri Lankan shares close flat, blue chips gain
Aug 20, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed flat Thursday as retail investors eyed undervalued mid-cap stocks to profit from an anticipated month-end technical correction, brokers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed up 0.06 percent (1.58 points) to end at 2,524.62, while the Milanka index of liquid stocks gained 0.12 […]
Reverse Gear
Aug 20, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s United Motors Lanka (UMLL) made a 132 million-rupee loss in the June 2009 quarter as sales almost halved owing to weak orders from government ministries and the private sector. UMLL’s June quarter revenues plummeted 45.1 percent to almost 990 million rupees, while cost of sales dropped 50 percent […]