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Price War
Sept 13, 2007 (LBO) – The bunker fuels subsidiary of John Keells Holdings, a top money-spinner of the group, looks set to face heightened competition with a rival supplier in Colombo port threatening to cut prices. The Sri Lanka Shipping Group, which sells ship fuel through its bunkering subsidiary, Lanka Maritime Services, has said it […]
Sri Lanka economy slows to 6.2% in 1H2007
Sept 13, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economy expanded 6.4 percent in the second quarter clocking up a 6.2 percent growth for the first half, coming off record highs in 2006, the government’s statistics office said. The growth in gross domestic product (GDP) has slowed compared to an expansion of 7.8 percent in the first […]
Monkey Bridge
NEW DELHI, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) – Thousands of right-wing Hindus launched protests across India Wednesday against a plan to create a sea lane which they say would destroy the links between a revered string of islands. The half-billion-dollar project would allow ships to travel around the southern tip of India without having to skirt […]
Mobile Medicine
Sept 12, 2007 (LBO) – A service to channel doctors via mobile phones has won an international technology and customer service award, the ICT firms that run it in Sri Lanka said. EChannelling a listed company that started a web-based medical appointment service and Sri Lanka’s largest celco, Dialog Telekom had won the Innovative Technology […]
Indonesia issues tsunami alert after 7.9-magnitude quake
JAKARTA, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) – A massive 7.9-magnitude quake struck off the western coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Wednesday, prompting authorities to issue a tsunami warning, meteorologists said. The archipelago nation sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where continental plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity. The undersea earthquake, which hit […]
Sri Lanka treasury yields move up; cut off edges to 18%
Sept 12, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka treasury 3-month Treasury bill yields went up 13 basis points to 17.93 percent with the cut-off tripping over 18.00 percent dealers said. The government debt office said 10.7 billion rupees worth of bills were rolled over and 1.8 billion retired at Wednesday’s auction. Six months bills edged up […]
Southeast Asia gears up for palm oil boom
JAKARTA, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) – Southeast Asian nations are gearing up for a palm oil boom as interest in biofuels soars, but activists warn the crop may not satisfy a global thirst for energy that is both clean and green. They caution that oil palm plantations require massive swathes of land — either what’s […]
Dollar drops as speculation grows on Fed move
NEW YORK, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) – The euro flirted with a new record high against the dollar Tuesday as speculation increased about a Federal Reserve rate cut to help get credit flowing and stave off a US economic downturn.The single European currency fetched 1.3838 dollars at 2100 GMT after 1.3797 late Monday in New […]
Fleming sacked as New Zealand Test captain for Vettori
WELLINGTON, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) – Stephen Fleming has been dumped as New Zealand Test captain after a decade in favour of one-day skipper Daniel Vettori. Fleming led the one-day team to 98 wins from 218 games over the past 10 years.He played 279 one-dayers, scoring 8,007 runs — the highest total of any New […]
Sri Lanka opposition slam HSBC, business chambers over dollar bond
Sept 12, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main opposition has slammed HSBC Bank over its involvement in a controversial sovereign bond issue and accused two trade chambers that came to its aid of creating a “new class of exploiters”. Last week HSBC defended itself saying it was following local rules after the opposition United National […]