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Credit Clamp
January 31 (LBO) – The Securities and Exchange Commission has clamped down on brokers who finance customers by giving them extra time to settle, because the practice is undermining the finances of the intermediaries, an official said. No single client (a company, a group of companies or immediate family members) can be given more than […]
Zimbabwe central bank to limit money printing to curb inflation, calls for fiscal restraint
HARARE, Jan 31, 2007 (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono on Wednesday unveiled a battery of belt-tightening measures including slashed money supply to put the brakes on four-digit inflation.Gono however did not devalue the local currency, saying it was no panacea. “The urgency of the need to reduce inflation impels that 2007 be […]
‘s east
Jan 31, 2007 (AFP) – Six policemen were killed and several more wounded Wednesday in a roadside bomb attack carried out by Tamil Tiger rebels, the defence ministry said. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) set off a powerful Claymore mine against a bus transporting constables travelling home on leave, a ministry spokesman […]
‘s jumbo cabinet looks for meeting venue
Jan 31, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s newly inducted 53-member cabinet has put off its first meeting for want of a venue and other logistical problems, press reports here said Wednesday.The delay came as Sri Lanka’s party of Buddhist monks announced they were also joining the government, a move that would further increase the massive […]
India raises policy rate to 7.5% to keep inflation below 5.5%
MUMBAI, Jan 31, 2007 (AFP) – The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday raised its key short-term borrowing rate by a quarter percentage point to 7.50 percent citing inflation risks as it also hiked its full-year growth forecast. The central bank however kept other rates unchanged including its overnight deposit rate at 6.0 percent after […]
Inflation in Sri Lanka hits a new record of 20.5% in January
January 31 (LBO) – Consumer inflation in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo soared to a new record of 20.5 percent in the year to January, beating the 19.8 percent high reached in November, a report from the government’s statistics office showed Wednesday. This is the highest inflation seen in Sri Lanka for more than a decade. […]
Sri Lanka raises 23 million dollars from rupee bond sale
January 30 (LBO) – Sri Lanka goverment has raised 23 million dollars by selling rupee bonds to foreign investors, its public debt office said Tuesday. The island has a BB- sovereign rating from Fitch and B+ rating from Standard and Poors. . The announcement came ahead of a visit by a government team to Singapore […]
Sri Lanka treasury bill yields leap forward as central bank baulks at printing money
January, 30 (LBO) – Government securities vaulted up at Tuesday’s auction, with cut off rates for one year treasury bills touching 14.5 percent, dealers said. The weighted average yield at Tuesday’s auction for all maturities climbed up 31 basis points to 13.80 percent. “The rates are now reflecting the true state of the market,” says […]
Ship Ahoy
Jan 30 (LBO) – Lanka Indian Oil Corporation has called for vessels to supply lubricant base oil for its new blending plant in the East of Sri Lanka, which is to begin production in June this year. Last week, the fuel retailer, a unit of India’s Fortune 500 Indian Oil Corp got a government licence […]
Not so fast
January 30 (LBO) – The central bank is planning to introduce new prudential regulations for credit cards, following their rapid use and growth in lending, an official said. Last year the government slapped a 10 rupee stamp duty on every 1000 rupees of purchases through credit cards.Up to last November Sri Lankan banks have issued […]