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Oct 20, 2007 (LBO) –The number of Sri Lankans buying mobile phones is still increasing rapidly, opening new avenues for equipment sellers and cellular operators who expand coverage and add services, industry officials say. Nokia and Siemens, two leading telecom equipment providers who merged in March this year, are hoping to cash in on the […]
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WASHINGTON, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) – Developing countries on Friday dismissed the International Monetary Fund’s pace of reforms to increase their voice in the troubled institution as “disappointing and unacceptable.” The Group of 24 developing countries, representing the majority of the IMF’s membership but only an impotent minority in its operations, reiterated its call for […]
India sends back New York rubbish
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,, India, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) – India’s communist-ruled Kerala state has ordered containers of illegal rubbish shipped in from New York to be sent back, a minister said Friday. The containers were supposed to hold only “raw materials” meaning waste paper under a deal between paper manufacturing company Kochin Kadlas and New York Municipality. […]
Bears prowl Wall Street as jitters grow on outlook
NEW YORK, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) – A horrific week on Wall Street has put the bears in command as the market braces for more bleak news from the US housing front and earnings that may show how companies are weathering the storm. In the week ended Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 4.05 […]
Sri Lanka should act on inflation, budget deficit: IMF
WASHINGTON, Oct 20, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should pay more attention to rising inflation and address the problem with the country’s budget, a top IMF official said. “Inflation has picked up and they need to pay more attention to that,” IMF’s Asia Pacific Director David Burton said at the launch of the Asia and […]
IMF urges care in commercial borrowing for conflict countries
WASHINGTON, Oct 19, 2007 (LBO) – IMF chief Rodrigo de Rato said countries emerging from conflict should be careful about commercial borrowing, but welcomed investor willingness to buy into local currency developing country bonds..Updated De Rato however said countries emerging from conflict should be careful about foreign commercial borrowing. Responding to a question on how […]
Sri Lanka hunts new oil reserves in the south
COLOMBO, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka is seeking international expertise to conduct seismic surveys off the southern tip of the island in a hunt for new oil deposits, a senior minister said Friday.The country continues to import all its petroleum.“Initial seismic surveys shows that there are prospects for oil deposits in the southern […]
Indian shares fall 2.44 percent on capital control fears
MUMBAI, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) – Indian share prices slid 2.44 percent in volatile trade on Friday as investors chose to unwind positions fearing sharper falls on concerns over capital flow controls, dealers said.They said the markets could drop further until clarity emerges on a regulatory proposal to curb capital flows into India. The benchmark […]
Nobel-winning climate chief warns Asia at risk
TOKYO, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) – The head of a UN climate panel that shared the Nobel Peace Prize warned Friday that Asia was particularly vulnerable to global warming, with the continent set for more disasters unless action is taken. “Asia being the rapidly growing continent with the largest share of the human population located […]
Oil prices pass record $90 amid supply, geopolitical fears
NEW YORK, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) – New York crude oil prices surpassed a record 90 dollars a barrel in after-hours trading Thursday as Iraq urged Turkey not to take military action against Kurdish rebels located in northern Iraq.Traders said oil prices were also stoked higher by a weakening US dollar and global supply jitters. […]