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Hedge Saga
Nov 29, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Standard Chartered Bank unit says it was not directly affected by a court order which halted payments due under a hedge it arranged for a state-run oil distributor and said it welcomed a probe into the deal.Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court Friday ordered the country’s central bank to probe […]
Battle for Mumbai ends, last militants killed
MUMBAI, Nov 29, 2008 (AFP) – Commandos killed three holdout gunmen Saturday in Mumbai’s Taj Hotel, bringing an end to a two-day Islamic militant assault on India’s financial capital that left at least 155 dead, including 21 foreigners. The final attack on the historic seafront hotel was marked by heavy gunfire and loud explosions that […]
Sri Lanka should stop intervention before it is too late: economist
Nov 29, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should stop a self-destructive sterilized intervention cycle of the national currency and move to stabilize the economy, to prevent an even more dramatic fall of the currency, an economist has said. Kamikaze Before mid-September when the central bank started a sterilized intervention cycle and started putting pressure on […]
Sri Lanka shares rise marginally, Distilleries boosts trading volumes
Nov 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan share prices ended slightly firmer Friday, with volumes pushed higher by large trades in Distilleries Company but concerns over company earnings still weighing on the market, brokers said. Tissera said the large transactions in Distilleries Company accounted for the bulk of the day’s trading volumes. Over 11.2 million […]
Hatton Profits
Nov 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank group profits were up 6 percent to 807.3 million rupees with revenues up 16 percent to 9,665.3 million rupees in the 9-months to September, accounts filed with the Colombo Stock Exchange showed. Group gross assets were 256.5 billion rupees, up 6 percent from December 2007 […]
Steady State
Nov 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s National Development Bank’s net profits for the September 2008 quarter rose 18 percent to 351 million rupees, interim accounts showed, while revenues climbed 20 percent to 3,169 million rupees. During the 9-months to September, performing loans and advances had growth 15 percent to 57.2 billion rupees. Total deposits […]
Sri Lanka hoteliers brace for tough winter
Nov 28, 2008 Sri Lanka’s hoteliers are bracing for a tough winter season with occupancy levels being hit by cancellations amid global turmoil while the industry was already struggling with weak arrivals, officials said. Though hotels are pressured to bring down room rates, officials say they are hoping to give value added services and improve […]
Sri Lanka tea prices fall sharply
Nov 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices at the Colombo auction fell sharply this week with large quantities unsold indicating the crisis caused by the sudden collapse in demand last month was continuing. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 Brokers said that prices […]
Tele Performance
Nov 28, 2008 (LBO) – Profits of Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) group, the island’s largest fixed access carrier, fell 31 percent to 1,235 million rupees with revenues growing 4 percent to 11,691 million in the quarter ended September 2008. The stand alone fixed access unit, which excludes the cellular subsidiary Mobitel, saw profits fall 45 […]
Commandos storm Mumbai Jewish centre: Eye witness
MUMBAI, November 28, 2008 (AFP) – At least 17 commandos on Friday abseiled from a helicopter into the Jewish centre in Mumbai taken by Islamic militants, and explosions were heard, an AFP witness said.The centre was one of several targets in the city attacked by Islamist gunmen.Officials said hostages, including Israelis, were believed to be […]