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‘s no dictator
MALE, October 7, 2008 (AFP) – The president of the Maldives went into a multi-party election challenge to his 30 years in office Wednesday insisting he was no dictator and pledging to bow out gracefully should he lose. Veteran strongman Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, currently Asia’s longest-serving leader, faces five challengers in the polls that mark […]
Icelandic central bank abandons krona peg to euro
REYKJAVIK, October 8, 2008 (AFP) – Iceland’s central bank said Wednesday it was abandoning efforts to shore up the krona, saying there was “insufficient support” for the exchange rate it had locked in at 131 kronur to the euro a day earlier. “For the past two days, the central bank of Iceland has carried out […]
Arab stock markets join global rout
KUWAIT CITY, October 8, 2008 (AFP) – Gulf stock markets tumbled for the fourth day running on Wednesday amid growing fears that policymakers may be powerless to stop the worst financial shock since the Great Depression. The plunge slashed many more billions from the combined value of regional markets to add to enormous losses chalked […]
McCain hits hard but debate lacks game-changer
NASHVILLE, October 8, 2008 (AFP) – John McCain hammered away at unruffled front-runner Barack Obama in Tuesday’s second presidential debate but failed to land the cutting blow likely to revive his sliding poll numbers. Gallup’s daily tracking poll Tuesday reflected the high stakes for McCain, giving Obama a nine point lead nationally, while the Democratic […]
US candidates eye Warren Buffett as possible Treasury chief
NASHVILLE, October 8, 2008 (AFP) – Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama and his Republican rival John McCain Tuesday agreed that one of the world’s richest men, Warren Buffett, would make a good treasury secretary. The two were asked at the beginning of their second presidential debate who would be a good replacement for current […]
Wall Street lose 500 points to slips to five-year low
NEW YORK, October 7, 2008 (AFP) – Stocks plunged for a second day running on Wall Street on Tuesday, while those in Europe were mixed, on persistent anxiety over the health of the banking sector — and despite central bank initiatives to shore up confidence. Wall Street opened with solid gains, bolstering both spirits and […]
UN chief rails against suicide attacks in Sri Lanka
UNITED NATIONS, October 7, 2008 (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday condemned the latest suicide attacks in Sri Lanka, including one which killed at least 27 people.The attack in the northern town of Anuradhapura came as the Sri Lankan military appeared on the verge of capturing the rebel Tigers’ key headquarters as part […]
Major central banks cut rates to head off deflationary collapse
Oct 08, 2008 (LBO) – Major reserve currency central bank led by the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England joined by Swiss and Swedish authorities cut rates by 50 basis points in a bid to head off a deflationary collapse of the global economic system. With interest rates already low the Bank of […]
Sri Lanka stocks tumble, Maskeliya loses gains
Oct 07, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares ended sharply lower dragged down by falls in large cap stocks with Maskeliya Plantations, which had risen on speculation of a takeover, plunging Tuesday, brokers said. Secretaries to Maskeliya Plantations said in a stock exchange filing that the RPC group was holding talks on the possible sale […]
Dollar Loan
Oct 07, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has called proposals for a 300 million US dollar syndicated loan, with another 150 million US dollars now being negotiated, the government’s debt office said. The proposed syndicated loan would be about 32 billion Sri Lankan rupees. “As envisaged in the Budget and approved by Parliament, the funds […]