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Union Outlook
Dec 07, 2007 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Sri Lanka has lifted Union Bank of Colombo’s outlook on its BB + (lka) rating to ‘positive’ from ‘stable’ citing an asset quality improvement. “The recent equity injections and the benefits expected, specifically to profitability and scalability of the bank’s business is reflected in the revision of the […]
Forewarned
Dec 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s private sector credit is slowing but lenders should tighten standards and improve risk management as interest rates continue to rise, the Central Bank has warned. In a report on the island’s financial sector stability, the regulator said private sector credit has grown around 24-26 percent in the first […]
Sri Lanka power fails island wide
Dec 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s national power system failed shortly before dawn Friday, plunging the island in darkness as a thermal generator tripped out of the grid, officials said. A combined cycle thermal power plant at Sri Lanka’s state-owned Ceylon Electricity Board’s (CEB) Kelanitissa thermal generation complex had tripped at 4.48 am local […]
Sri Lanka tableware exporter goes niche
Dec 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tableware exporters Dankotuwa Porcelain has said it is shifting strategy away from mass production to focus on specialty designs for niche markets. The move is in response to growing competition from cheaper manufacturers in other Asian origins, especially those with access to cheap energy. “It is impossible to […]
US mortgage aid plan to ease housing slump, but at a price
WASHINGTON, Dec 6, 2007 (AFP) – A vast mortgage relief package brokered by the Bush administration is likely to ease the pain of the US housing slump but with an uncertain cost for markets and the financial system, analysts say.“That’s a loss for mortgage holders but it’s a smaller loss than would come from foreclosure,” […]
Japan cuts third-quarter growth estimate
TOKYO, Dec 7, 2007 (AFP) – Japan’s economy grew at an annualised pace of 1.5 percent in the third quarter of 2007, much less than an initial estimate of a 2.6 percent expansion, the government said Friday. But the world’s second-largest economy saw a recovery after shrinking in the second quarter, buoyed by brisk exports […]
Railway Repair
Dec 06, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to rehabilitate a tsunami-hit coastal railway line at a cost of 167.4 million dollar using an Indian credit line, a minister said. The proposed project that extends the railway line beyond Matara, a town in the southern tip of the island, will be completed within three years, […]
Money Trees
Dec 06, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s financial and accounting regulators are developing more reliable ways of valuing trees in forestry firms, the Sri Lanka Accounting Auditing Standards Monitoring Board (SLAASMB) said. “When finalized, the guidelines will provide a reliable basis to value biological assets,” the SLAASMB said. “It will provide preparers, auditors and regulators […]
OECD sees strong euro, tight credit hitting eurozone growth
PARIS, Dec 6, 2007 (AFP) – A strong euro and tougher credit conditions will weigh on the eurozone economy next year, the OECD predicted on Thursday, cutting its 2008 growth forecast to 1.9 percent from 2.3 percent previously. It also warned that a stronger-than-expected slowdown in the United States, Europe’s biggest trade partner, would also […]
Police, politicians and judges most corrupt: watchdog
BERLIN, Dec 6, 2007 (AFP) – One in every four people has been asked to pay a bribe to the police, and political parties and parliaments are the most tainted by corruption, a Transparency International study released on Thursday shows. The poor are targeted for bribes in both developed and developing countries, according to the […]