All Blogs
Treasury bond yields take a leap
August 21, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s borrowing costs shot up Monday, when the Central Bank sold three and four year treasury bonds at higher yields.The bank offered 1.5 billion rupees worth of 4-year bonds and 1.0 billion rupees worth of 5-year bonds to the market, but accepted only 500 million rupees worth of bids […]
India Shines
August 21, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Dutch Lanka Trailers has stepped up investments plans in India following a 2 million dollar equity injection through private investors last week. The privately held firm does not disclose its financials, but said sales and profits over the past 3-years have shown a compound average growth of 45 […]
Ticking Away
August 21, 2006 (LBO) — Depositors who have money and other assets in Sri Lanka’s bank have till the end of the month to reactivate their accounts, and prevent accounts being reported to the central bank has abandoned property, officials said.Parliamentarians representing the community in particular have raised objections to the takeover process. Bankers say […]
Trade Barriers
August 21, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has set an end September deadline to implement commitments under its trade deals with India, Pakistan and other South Asian countries. Sri Lanka was expected to phase out tariffs under its free trade deals with India and Pakistan this year, as well as under the South Asian Free […]
Chaos as Zimbabwe switches to new currency
HARARE, Aug 22, 2006 (AFP) – Zimbabweans struggled to offload soon-to-be worthless cash on Monday as chaos and confusion prevailed ahead of a midnight deadline to convert to a new currency aimed at combating galloping inflation.Banks extended their working hours to cater to crowds who came to dispose of their old notes while others went […]
Panda blog opens in China
BEIJING, Aug 21, 2006 (AFP) – A week-old giant panda cub has received her own blog as China seeks to raise public awareness about protecting the endangered animal, state media said Monday. The blog, named “Baby Panda Home”, has debuted on the Sina website. It features photos, regular updates on the panda’s growth and discussions […]
Singapore launches drive to attract immigrants amid baby shortage
SINGAPORE, Aug 21, 2006 (AFP) – Singapore will launch a more aggressive drive to attract immigrants to avert a serious population shortage, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, again urging citizens to produce more babies.Raising the population issue as one of his priorities, Lee said the government would establish a new “citizenship and population unit” […]
Ancient Indian port with links to Roman Empire faces extinction
PATTANAM, India, Aug 21, 2006 (AFP) – Pottery shards, beads, Roman copper coins and ancient wine bottles litter the strata beneath this small seaside village in India’s southern Kerala state.The 250 families, mostly agricultural labourers, who live in Pattanam, 260 kilometers (161 miles) north of Kerala’s capital Thiruvananthapuram, find the objects pretty, but would rather […]
Monitors flee fighting amid fresh bid to save Sri Lanka truce
Aug 21, 2006 (AFP) – The monitors of Sri Lanka’s collapsing truce were retreating to Colombo amid fierce fighting as the nation’s financial backers met the president to press for a return to peace talks, officials said Monday.Clashes continued between government troops and separatist Tamil Tiger rebels amid growing concern over food shortages in parts […]