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Trishaw Finance
April 18, 2007 (LBO) – A small Sri Lankan finance company to which specializes in funding three-wheeled auto-rickshaws is showing high profitability, Fitch Ratings which assigned the firm a BB+ (lka) rating said Wednesday. About 95 percent of the assets of Trade Finance and Investments (TFI) in the 9-months ending December 2006 was in three-wheeler […]
Merchant Rating
April 18, 2007 (LBO) – Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka, a listed subsidiary of the state-owned Bank of Ceylon, has received a AA3 rating for its proposed 600 million-rupee debenture, Lanka Rating Agency (LRA) said Wednesday. LRA says MBSL’s growth is capped by its funding. “The rating of the proposed debt issue is similar to […]
Different Strokes
April 18, 2007 (LBO) – Fledgling Islamic insurer, Amana Takaful Insurance (ATI), which was listed on the second board of the Colombo bourse last November, has reported a 57 percent growth in premium collections it the audited accounts for 2006. The company’s shares last traded at 31.50 at the close of market in April though […]
Dollar on the ropes against European currencies
TOKYO, April 18, 2007 (AFP) – The dollar languished at a near 15-year low against the British pound and a two-year trough versus the euro in Asian trade Wednesday as the market bet on further hikes in European interest rates, dealers said.The pound sterling firmed to 2.0074 dollars in Tokyo morning trade from 2.0063 in […]
New Zealand dollar hits highest level for quarter century
WELLINGTON , April 18, 2007 (AFP) – The New Zealand dollar hit its highest level against the US currency for 25 years on Wednesday after inflation data reinforced expectations of further interest rate increases. High interest rates have made the New Zealand currency attractive to foreign investors while weakness in the US dollar has also […]
Sterling tops two dollars as greenback under rates pressure
NEW YORK, April 17, 2007 (AFP) – Sterling climbed above the psychological barrier of two dollars Tuesday for the first time since 1992 as data on both sides of the Atlantic suggested future rate movements will hurt the greenback. The British currency benefited from higher-than-expected British inflation data which raised expectations of an interest rate […]
Maharoof gives Sri Lanka selectors a headache
ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, April 18, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka seamer Farveez Maharoof gave Sri Lanka a World Cup semi-final selection headache on Wednesday when he claimed four victims in his team’s Super Eights eight-wicket win over Ireland.Maharoof, playing in the side because of an injury to Lasith Malinga while Dilhara Fernando was rested, made […]
‘s Maharoof and Murali torpedo Ireland
ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, April 18, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Farveez Maharoof and Muttiah Muralitharan took four wickets each to set up an eight-wicket win against Ireland, who bowed out of the World Cup by making 77 – the sixth lowest total in the competition’s history – here on Wednesday.Maharoof, playing in the side because […]
Sarwan emerges front-runner for West Indies captaincy
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, April 18, 2007 (AFP) – Middle-order batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan is all set to be named as the West Indies captain for their next month’s tour of England replacing the under-fire Brian Lara.The enigmatic Lara is likely to face the axe after West Indies’ unimpressive World Cup performance which saw them losing four of […]
Willis calls for Vaughan axe
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, April 18, 2007 (AFP) – Former England captain Bob Willis demanded Michael Vaughan be axed as skipper following the team’s World Cup exit.Willis, now a TV pundit, said coach Duncan Fletcher and chairman of selectors David Graveney should also be removed from their postitions after South Africa’s thumping nine-wicket win condemned Vaughan’s men […]