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Solvency Tests
April 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan finance companies should reduce maturity mis-matches between their assets and liabilities an official said. When interest rates go up the value of fixed rate assets come down, said Naomal Goonewardena, partner, Nithya Partners. He was speaking on the legal responsibilities of directors of finance firms at a seminar […]
Three arrested in Britain over Tamil Tiger probe: police
April 29, 2008 (AFP) – Three men were arrested in London and Wales Tuesday as part of a long-term police investigation into the Tamil Tigers guerrillas in Sri Lanka, Scotland Yard said.The trio were arrested in dawn raids at homes and business addresses in Newtown, mid-Wales; Mitcham, southwest London; and in the county of Surrey, […]
Internal Siemens probe uncovers widespread corruption: company
FRANKFURT, April 29, 2008 (AFP) – An internal probe at German industrial group Siemens has found that almost all its sectors of activity were subject to active corruption, a company statement said Tuesday. The international law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton “has found evidence in each of the examined groups and in various countries indicating […]
Philippines asks citizens to eat yams as rice prices soars
CEBU, Philippines, April 29, 2008 (AFP) – President Gloria Arroyo on Tuesday urged fellow Filipinos to boil rice with yams or to eat cheaper cereals to avoid going hungry as rice prices soared to record levels.“This is a once-a-millennium global crisis. We have an action plan,” Arroyo said, noting that residents of the central island […]
Financial crisis hits profits at German insurer Allianz
FRANKFURT, April 29, 2008 (AFP) – German insurer Allianz said Tuesday that its first quarter net profit will slump to a third of what it was in the year-earlier period due the ongoing financial crisis and weak stock markets. The Munich-based group said it was writing off 900 million euros (1.4 billion dollars) worth of […]
‘s central bank hikes cash reserve ratio to fight inflation
MUMBAI, April 29, 2008 (AFP) – India’s central bank on Tuesday held key interest rates steady but hiked the percentage of cash banks must hold in reserve to 8.25 percent to curb inflation riding at over three-year highs. It was the second time the Reserve Bank of India had announced an increase in the cash […]
Food crisis sparks role reversal in WTO
GENEVA, April 28, 2008 (AFP) – The food crisis is bringing about a role reversal in the World Trade Organization: traditionally liberal major food exporters are now imposing restrictions on exports while protectionist states are pushing for liberalisation. To deal with the recent hike in food prices, Argentina, Brazil, Vietnam, India and Egypt have all […]
Costs driving US manufacturing firms out of China: AmCham
BEIJING, April 28, 2008 (AFP) – China is loosing some of its attractiveness to foreign investors as rising costs are forcing some US manufacturing firms to leave the country, the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) said Monday.More than two-thirds of AmCham’s member companies surveyed in an annual white paper agreed that China was losing some […]
Energy Projects
April 29, 2008 (AFP) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday launched a 1.2-billion-dollar project largely funded by Tehran to upgrade Sri Lanka’s sole oil refinery, officials said. Ahmadinejad and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse planted an ebony sapling to launch work at the Sapugaskande refinery, just outside the capital Colombo. The four-year upgrade will […]
Sri Lanka stocks dragged lower by Dialog Telekom, war fears
April 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks closed 0.51 percent lower, dragged down by a fall in the price of index-heavy Dialog Telekom and investor jitters over heavy army casualties in battle with Tamil Tigers, brokers said Monday. The All Share Price Index of the Colombo Stock Exchange closed 13.56 points (0.51 percent) lower […]