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Sri Lankan troops kill 20 rebels
October 11, 2008 (AFP) – Heavy fighting continued between troops and Tamil Tiger rebels across Sri Lanka’s war-ravaged north, with the military killing 20 guerrillas, the defence ministry said Saturday. Friday’s fighting, which took place across several northern fronts, also killed five soldiers and wounded 18, the ministry said. The latest fighting raised the number […]
IMF, World Bank meet amid financial mayhem
WASHINGTON, October 11, 2008 (AFP) – The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank opened their annual meetings Saturday in the midst of global financial chaos that has governments racing to find the means to tame it. The meetings follow Wall Street’s worst week on record and a pledge by the Group of Seven major […]
US plans to inject capital into banks: Paulson
WASHINGTON, October 11, 2008 (AFP) – Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Friday that the US government planned to invest directly in US banks to prevent them from failing, expanding the focus of the government’s 700-billion-dollar rescue plan. “We’re going to do it as soon as we can do it and do it effectively,” Paulson said […]
Sri Lanka wins with Mendis magic
TORONTO, October 10, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s latest spin sensation Ajantha Mendis took three wickets and was named man of the match as his side clinched a five-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the first game of the Canada T20 event here on Friday. Mendis, recently named the ICC’s Emerging Player of the Year, finished […]
Wall Street searches for bottom after worst weekly pounding
NEW YORK, October 11, 2008 (AFP) – Wall Street’s worst meltdown in recent memory ended the week with a whimper, leaving panicked investors wondering whether the vicious selloff will end soon or will keep ravaging the market. Ironically, some analysts say the meltdown on Wall Street and other global markets could mean a “bottom” has […]
Sri Lanka central bank intervening for stability: Governor
Oct 10, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank is intervening in forex markets to maintain stability and the monetary authority has bought more dollars than it sold this year, Governor Nivard Cabraal said amidst concerns that the rupee is under pressure. “Our intervention is still on the positive side,” Cabraal said.“We have intervened to […]
Sri Lanka shares plunge in widespread sell-off
Oct 10, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan share prices fell sharply Friday as investors appeared unnerved by the global stock market rout, with the benchmark index slumping below the psychologically important 2,000 point mark, brokers said. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 The All Share […]
Shipping Trends
Oct 10, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Colombo port needs to move fast to build new deep-water terminals if it is to remain competitive, a senior official of the local office of Maersk, the world’s biggest shipping line, has said.While the state-owned Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) can be developed it needs to increase efficiency. “Additional […]
More Funds
Oct 10, 2008 (LBO) – Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) said it has strengthened the capital base of its UK subsidiary, HSBC Bank, through an equity injection of 750million pounds. The bank said in a statement the capital injection, representing one per cent of the total shareholders’ equity of the HSBC Group as at […]
Bank Rating
Oct 10, 2008 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka Friday affirmed Sri Lanka’s DFCC Vardhana Bank’s (DVB) National Long-term rating at ‘AA-(lka)’ with a stable outlook.Its gross NPL ratio slipped to 10.7 percent at H108 from 5.9 percent at FYE06 on account of weakened macro conditions, and partially owing to the regulatory change in classification of […]