All Blogs
Wall Street suffers historic savaging
NEW YORK, October 15, 2008 (AFP) – Wall Street stocks plunged Wednesday in the second biggest single day point loss in history and their worst percentage fall in two decades, ravaged by fears the world’s biggest economy is slipping into recession. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 733.08 points (7.87 percent) to close at 8,577.91 […]
Burst Bubble
LONDON, October 16, 2008 (AFP) – Oil prices slumped further on Thursday, with Brent crude sliding below 68 dollars a barrel to the lowest level for more than 15 months, as slowing energy demand took its toll, traders said.Crude oil futures were down more than 50 percent from record highs of above 147 dollars reached […]
’s emerging middle class spend more on convenience
Oct 16, 2008 (LBO) – Changing Sri Lankan middle class consumer habits and inflation reducing spending power is forcing consumer goods marketers to change strategies to keep growth ticking. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 Emerging middle class consumers are showing a growing preference for […]
Sri Lanka shares rise again, but Q3 earnings seen crucial
Oct 15, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares rose again Wednesday, regaining some ground lost in last week’s plunge but brokers said the recovery’s sustainability would depend on quarterly earnings. The Colombo bourse had fallen heavily last week, as other markets crashed. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and […]
Terminal Trends
Oct 15, 2008 (LBO) – The Maersk group, which runs the world’s biggest shipping line, may be interested in investing in a new container terminal in the planned new deep-draft port next to Colombo, a company official said.“The last time APMT did not participate because it was involved in too many projects and its resources […]
Good Cheques
Oct 15, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank has started a new current account facility for longstanding customers in a bid to discourage cheque returns and boost the currency of the bank’s cheques, officials said. “We want people to recognize that these cheques are as good as cash,” Sampath Bank chief executive designate Harris […]
Budget Broadband
Oct 15, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s celcos are looking at ways to sell broadband services in small chunks, to reach cost-conscious customers, who do not need long hours of continuous connectivity, officials said. Sri Lanka’s mobile penetration is now 44 percent and the island’s telecom regulator says the country would hit 50 percent by […]
Cheaper Calls
Oct 15, 2008 (LBO) – South Asian telecommunications regulators meeting for a regional conference in New Delhi, India will today discuss lowering roaming tariffs, officials said. Tariffs on calls made between the member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation are much higher than calls made to distant countries like the UK and […]
Sri Lanka fighting kills 43
October 15, 2008 (AFP) – Heavy fighting broke out across Sri Lanka’s northern area of Kilinochchi, leaving 37 Tamil Tiger rebels and six soldiers dead, the defence ministry said Wednesday.It said 34 rebels and 25 soldiers were also wounded in the fierce fighting that took place on several fronts on Tuesday. The Liberation Tigers of […]
Sri Lanka budget airline to fly again
15 Oct, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan budget airline Mihin Lanka’s new chairman says they are trying to re-launch the defunct carrier’s operations by December 2008. Raja Edirisuriya, former chairman of the State Engineering Corporation, Wednesday officially took over the government’s airline operator Mihin Lanka which has been grounded since May. He says that after […]