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Sri Lanka mulls extending private tea sale curbs
May 07, 2009 (LBO) – Restrictions on private sales of low grown teas outside the main auctions in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, are likely to be extended this year, an official said.The curb are placed in the belief that they help prop up prices, though a ‘private’ sale takes away an equal amount of supply […]
Digital Future
WASHINGTON, May 7, 2009 (AFP) – Old Media squared off against New Media on Wednesday as a US Senate panel examined the future of journalism in the digital age. The demise of the newspaper industry took center stage as a Texas newspaper publisher, a former Baltimore Sun reporter, a top executive from Google and the […]
Indian elections enter final stretch
NEW DELHI, May 7, 2009 (AFP) – India kicked off the penultimate round of its marathon general election on Thursday, with the two main parties going head to head in a series of key races that could swing the final outcome. And with the finish line now in sight and no clear winner expected, attention […]
Sri Lanka Tigers using suicide bombers: military
May 7, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers are using suicide bombers to hold back government forces who are close to overrunning the last patch of rebel-held territory, the military said Thursday.The Tigers have deployed hundreds of suicide bombers to devastating effect in the past 20 years, claiming several high-profile victims, including the then […]
Swiss Re back to profitability in first quarter
ZURICH, May 7, 2009 (AFP) – The world’s biggest reinsurer Swiss Re said Thursday it made a profit of 150 million francs in the first quarter, returning to profitability after posting its biggest annual loss in 2008. “We are pleased to report that Swiss Re was able to return to profit in the first quarter […]
Sri Lanka rupee climbs higher
May 06, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka rupee closed at 118.10/20 against the spot US dollar Wednesday after floating higher from opening levels of around 119.80/120.00 levels with weak import demand, dealers said. In February the central bank’s real effective exchange showed the rupee was 26 percent overvalued against the US dollar. State banks, […]
Sri Lankan shares close up, rupee gains
May 06, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares gained on Wednesday supported by institutional and high net worth interest on blue chip stocks, while the rupee gained against the US dollar mid weak import buying, dealers said.A parcel of 276,000 of Ceylon Tobacco Company changed hands at 116.00 rupees. CTC, a subsidiary of global tobacco […]
Full Testimony
May 6, 2009 (LBO) – Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke told the Joint Economic Committee of the US congress that he expects “economic activity to bottom out, then to turn up later this year.” In contrast to the somewhat better news in the household sector, the available indicators of business investment remain extremely weak. Spending […]
‘s Tamil south
CHENNAI, May 6, 2009 (AFP) – The head of India’s ruling Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, cancelled two planned election rallies Wednesday in the country’s ethnic Tamil-dominated south, officials said. The state is scheduled to go to the polls next week in the fifth and final phase of India’s staggered month-long elections.Party officials, however, denied the […]
” for Asia
SINGAPORE, May 6, 2009 (AFP) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday sharply slashed its growth outlook for Asia, predicting a “long and severe recession” for the region’s wealthier but export-reliant economies. The export-led model of economic growth “may not pay the same dividends as in the past” as households in advanced economies were […]