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Sri Lanka violence claims 21: govt
September 15, 2008 (AFP) – Fresh fighting broke out across Sri Lanka’s tense north, leaving 20 Tamil Tiger rebels and one soldier dead, the defence ministry said Monday. The ministry said 22 rebels and 14 troops were wounded in Sunday’s fighting in Weli Oya, Kilinochchi and Vavuniya. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) did […]
Indian shares fall 5.19 percent on opening
MUMBAI, September 15, 2008 (AFP) – Indian shares tumbled 5.19 percent within minutes of opening on Monday over fears for the global financial system as the fate of Wall Street giant Lehman Brothers hung in the balance, dealers said. The BSE benchmark 30 share Sensex index slumped 727.95 points to 13,272.86 in early morning trade. […]
Ike damaged about 10 oil platforms: US officials
WASHINGTON, September 14, 2008 (AFP) – Hurricane Ike appears to have damaged about 10 oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, US officials said Sunday, raising concerns that the storm could hurt oil production and lead to a spike in prices at US gas stations. Eileen Angelico, a spokeswoman with the US Mineral Management Service […]
Death watch for Lehman Brothers as no buyer emerges
WASHINGTON, September 15, 2008 (AFP) – A last-ditch effort to find a buyer for troubled Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers appeared near collapse Sunday in a turbulent weekend for the finance sector.As emergency weekend talks on Lehman’s woes were being held in New York, a London source at British bank Barclays, who requested anonymity, […]
Sri Lanka PM arrives in Japan
TOKYO, September 15, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake on Monday arrived in Japan, the South Asian country’s top donor, for talks with counterpart Yasuo Fukuda, officials said.Fukuda, who abruptly resigned two weeks ago, will formally stay in office as Japan’s prime minister until parliament appoints the next prime minister following the […]
Credit Shuffle
Sept 15, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run petroleum utility Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) is covering overdue government accounts with an Iranian credit, but its finances are too fragile to cut prices, a top official said.Iran has given the CPC a rolling credit to cover four months of imports interest free and another three months […]
Sri Lanka central bank says August money growth controlled
Sept 15, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said it had maintained targets for reserve money, in the months of July and August, which is its main operational target instead of policy rates, causing inflation and credit growth to fall. The average reserve money in August was 280.9 billion rupees, indicating a growth of […]
Bunker Move
Sept 14, 2008 (LBO) – Lanka Marine Services (LMS), a unit of John Keells Holdings selling bunkers in Colombo port, has moved out most of its stocks from a tank farm by the court ordered deadline of September 12, a media report said.The Sunday Times quoting sources at Sri Lanka’s revenue office said, it had […]
‘s war-torn north
September 14, 2008 (AFP) – The United Nations said Sunday its aid staff were unable to comply with a Sri Lankan government order to quit the war-torn north of the island because of protests by local civilians. UN agencies say some 160,000 people have been displaced in the past few months in the districts of […]
EU finance chiefs still see no end in sight to crisis
NICE, September 14, 2008 (AFP) – The crisis roiling the financial sector will probably grind on for some time, but European banks should be able to avert serious trouble, EU finance chiefs said. US investment bank Lehman Brothers’ fight for its very survival over the weekend highlighted just how fragile the sector remains more than […]