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Sri Lankan plantations stocks sought after on earnings outlook
Feb 18, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares ended higher Monday driven by keen interest in plantations stocks by domestic retail investors anticipating higher earnings on the back of strong commodity prices, brokers said. In the bond market, all bids received at the auctions were rejected by the central bank. The All Share Price Index […]
Slow Lane
Feb 18, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has further raised taxes on cars to discourage imports and save foreign exchange, officials said Monday, pushing first-time buyers out of the market as economic woes worsen on the island.The new tax, which adds 10-percent import duty on cars and vans, is to be rubber-stamped by parliament this […]
Everyone™s Business
Feb 18, 2008 (LBO) – The United Nations office in Sri Lanka will hold a round table conference Tuesday to seek ways of encouraging more people to do volunteer work after a noticeable decline in interest. “The round table conference will talk about how we can make volunteering everyone’s business again,” United Nations Volunteers Programme […]
Low Tones
Feb 18, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Dialog Telekom group December quarter profits fell 35 percent despite revenue climbing 26 percent as losses from its pay TV business and thinner margins on mobile operations took their toll. Group net profits fell to 1.6 billion rupees from 2.5 billion in the December quarter on revenues of […]
Tele Outlook
Feb 18, 2008 (LBO) – Standard & Poor’s said it had cut the outlook on Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the island’s largest fixed operator, to ‘negative’ from stable after the country’s sovereign outlook was lowered last week. “SLT continues to benefit from modest debt and positive free cash flow generation from its core businesses,” S&P […]
Sri Lanka glove exporter enters Indian market: report
Feb 18, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s rubber gloves exporter Dipped Products Ltd. (DPL) has announced plans to enter the Indian market in partnership with Delhi-based import firm Optimum Marketing Metrics (OMM), news reports said Monday. The company, a unit of the Hayleys conglomerate, hopes to sell industrial and household gloves through big retail chains. […]
”, Australia backs Kosovo split
PARIS, Feb 18, 2008 (AFP) – Australia on Monday became the lastest nation to welcome Kosovo’s declaration of independence, joining the United States and several European powers, despite fierce objections from Serbia and Russia.Ethnic Albanians account for around 25 percent of Macedonia’s two-million population.In 2001, the government and ethnic Albanian rebels waged a brief fight […]
EU divided over Kosovo independence, Russia opposes
MOSCOW, Feb 17, 2008 (AFP) – Russia angrily condemned Kosovo’s declaration of independence on Sunday and while many major powers are expected to recognise the fledgling state, even the European Union is divided. The foreign ministry said it “could set an unmanageable precedent in the conduct of international relations, the established global order of sovereign […]
‘s electricity pricing: slab or low-user?
Feb 18, 2008 (LBO) – The rather unusual step taken by the CEB to actually follow the law and make available for comment its proposed tariff has stirred up significant interest. This short contribution will not address all the issues pertaining to the tariff revision, but simply seeks to shed some light on one key proposal: […]
Sri Lanka tv newsman stalked by mystery gang, says watchdog
Feb 18, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan journalists who expose government corruption are being subject to harassment and intimidation, the Free Media Movement said. The latest incident was an attempt to intimidate Susil Kedelpitiya, the news director of the popular Sinhala TV channel Sirasa, it said in a statement. Kedelpitiya has complained to police that […]