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‘s future?
Jan 28, 2008 (LBO) – At a conference organized by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing, an interesting question came from the audience: what would be the most globally competitive sectors of the Sri Lanka economy in ten years? The top sector that most of the panellists agreed on was agriculture, though one panellist did raise […]
Sri Lanka risks credit downgrade from US fallout: S&P
Jan 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is at risk of a credit downgrade from a recession in the United States, especially if domestic policies become more expansionary, the ratings agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) said. Sri Lanka has a B+ rating with a ‘stable’ outlook. “Sri Lanka would face the global slowdown from a […]
US presidential hopeful Ron Paul slams stimulus package, Fed rate cuts: report
Jan 27, 2008 (LBO) – Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul has slammed a US economic stimulus package based on tax-refunds and called for fiscal prudence and less Federal Reserve money printing, which caused the current turmoil in the first place. . Related video: Ron Paul taking on Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. Paul says the actual […]
Market turmoil fuels new gold rush as paper money inflation comes to fore
SYDNEY, Jan 27, 2008 (AFP) – Turbulence on world stock markets has fuelled a new gold rush, sending high-tech traders in search of the same “barbaric” treasure mankind has lusted after for millennia. It was British economist John Maynard Keynes who called gold a “barbaric relic” early last century, but modern investors are showing the […]
US town sues Wall St. banks for housing misery; Fed, gets away
CLEVELAND, Ohio, Jan 27, 2008 (AFP) – Hit by America’s mortgage crisis, the midwestern city of Cleveland has launched a legal battle against major Wall Street banks it blames for the devastation of its housing market. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson has accused a group of 21 big banks and financial firms of triggering local housing […]
‘s mobile network: a big brother surveillance tool?
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 27, 2008 (AFP) – Serious concerns were raised in Davos last week about the ability of the Chinese government to spy on the country’s 500 million mobile phone users.The head of China’s biggest mobile phone company, which has more than 300 million subscribers, stunned delegates by revealing that the company had unlimited […]
Obama sweeps Clinton in South Carolina with black vote
COLUMBIA, South Carolina, Jan 26, 2008 (AFP) – Senator Barack Obama routed Hillary Clinton in South Carolina’s Democratic presidential primary on Saturday, riding massive African-American support to a critical win in his bid to become the first black US president. With 98 percent of precincts reporting, Obama led the former first lady 55 to 27 […]
Societe Generale chairman fighting for future after rogue trade scandal
PARIS, Jan 27, 2008 (AFP) – A week from hell when he had to admit that 7.1 billion dollars had gone missing and another 3.5 billion was lost on the US subprime market, has tested even the mettle of crisis veteran Societe Generale chief Daniel Bouton. Societe Generale’s market value has lost more than 40 […]
Sri Lankan bodies in mass graves hard to identify: hospital
Jan 26, 2008 (AFP) – The bullet-riddled bodies of 16 men found dumped in shallow graves in a government-controlled area in Sri Lanka were hard to identify because they were badly decomposed, a hospital official said. A separate government probe found 430 civilians had been killed during a five-month period up to February 2007, though […]
Davos looks ahead to a year of trading dangerously
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 26, 2008 (AFP) – World business leaders and political powerbrokers wrapped up their annual gathering in Davos on Saturday by revisiting the issue of global economic uncertainty that clouded this year’s event. “I would like to turn our moral compact into legally binding contracts. Then my advice to the developing world? Get […]