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NZealand central bank leaves interest rates unchanged
WELLINGTON, Jan 23, 2008 (AFP) – New Zealand’s central bank left interest rates unchanged Thursday, saying the economy was in good shape despite recent global market turmoil and fears of a recession in the US. Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Governor Alan Bollard left the official cash rate on hold at 8.25 percent, one […]
Fed blunders under spotlight as ECB stands tall
PARIS, Jan 23, 2008 (AFP) – A stunning interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve, followed by a clear signal from its European counterpart that it would not follow suit, illustrates sharp differences in the operating mandates of the two central banks. In Washington Tuesday, the Fed rode to the rescue of global stock […]
Sri Lanka police say mass grave found
Jan 24, 2008 (AFP) – The bodies of at least 16 people have been found in a mass grave in a government-controlled area of north-central Sri Lanka, police said Thursday.The decomposed bodies were found by local residents in the district of Anuradhapura, 206 kilometres (130 miles) north of Colombo, police said. “Investigations have now begun […]
Sri Lanka panel urges power-sharing to end bloodshed
Jan 24, 2008 (AFP) – A peace panel including ruling party politicians told Sri Lanka’s president to devolve more power to minority Tamils as a first step to resolving the island’s long-running ethnic war, officials said Thursday.The panel, made up of President Mahinda Rajapakse’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party lawmakers and their allies, has been mulling […]
Sri Lanka rupee gains against greenback, forward premiums fall
Jan 23, 2008 (LBO) — The Sri Lanka rupee traded under 108.00 to the US dollar and overnight money fell from peaks above 20 percent in early trading Wednesday as the dollar weakened in international markets following a surprise rate cut, dealers said. The rupee traded around 107.88/108.92 in late trading as a state name […]
Sri Lanka looks to cut costs on sovereign bond
Jan 23, 2008 (LBO) — Sri Lanka is looking to cut interest costs on a fixed coupon 500 million dollar sovereign bond by using derivatives Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said, as US interest rates continue to fall.Since then the rupee has been stable, making dollar loans – at whatever price – much cheaper than […]
Safe Place
Jan 23, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is a safe place to travel in, Sri Lanka’s chief justice Sarath Silva told delegates of an international law conference in Colombo this week. “Our image is not the best, but I can assure you that this is a very safe place,” Silva told foreign delegates of the […]
LawAsiaICT2008
Jan 23, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan employers should enforce rules on e-mail and internet access to prevent misuse of company property and avoid potential legal problems, an expert told a law conference in the capital Colombo. But it also posed risks like firms not having enough oversight and supervision, how to compute hours worked […]
Maldives get 600,000 tourists in 2008
January 23, 2008 (LBO) — The Maldive Islands, a key market of two listed Sri Lankan leisure groups, greeted over 600,000 holidaymakers in 2007, the tourism ministry said, boosted by visitors from Britain, Italy and Germany. Tourism, which accounts for about a third of an economy of just under a billion dollars, grew a “record” […]
Southeast Asia may face biggest impact from US slowdown: IMF
WASHINGTON, Jan 22, 2008 (AFP) – Southeast Asia will face stiffer export competition from China and likely bear the brunt of any impact in Asia from a major economic slowdown in the United States, an IMF official said Tuesday.But Beijing would probably raise government spending, particularly on infrastructure investment, to keep the economy chugging along […]