Author: lbostgadmin
‘ half-year performance hits new record
Nov 01, 2010 (LBO) – Dubai-based Emirates airline’s first-half profit shot up 351 percent to 925 million US dollars (3. 4 billion UAE Dirhams) from a year ago as it carried more passengers and cargo, a statement said. The airline attributes the sharply higher profit in the six months ending September 30, 2010 mainly to […]
Sri Lanka stocks close up 1.11-pct
Nov 01, (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s stocks closed up Monday, with gains shown yet again in the banking sector, brokers said. The Colombo All Share Index rose 1.11 percent (74.38 points) to 6,752.43 points, while the Milanka Index of more liquid stocks rose 0.48 percent (34.48 points) to 7,276.25, according to provisional Colombo Stock Exchange […]
Airlines relish rebound after two lean years
PARIS, October 31, 2010 (AFP) – Commercial airlines in the United States, Europe and Asia are at last relishing a rebound in their financial fortunes, announcing profit spurts after two very lean years. The civil aviation sector in recent months has enjoyed a pronounced pick-up in both passenger and freight demand, with airlines welcoming the […]
Connectivity
Oct 31, 2010 (LBO)- Improved connectivity is an essential precondition for trade in goods and services, hopefully better governed once the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and Sri Lanka is completed and signed. The already large movements of people between the two countries will only grow when multimodal and lower-cost options are restored and […]
Sri Lanka farm gate coconut prices up 26-pct over two months
Oct 31, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s raw coconuts prices hit another high this week pushing average farm gate prices up 26. 5 percent over the past two months, as import protection remained tight amid higher global prices for substitutes. At Thursday’s auctions in Colombo average prices rose 894 rupees to 33,910 rupees for a […]
Wider Margins
Oct 31, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank of Ceylon has reported profits of 1. 4 billion rupees for the September 2010 quarter, up 46 percent from a year earlier, on stronger interest margins and loan growth. Revenues rose 0.2 percent to 10.55 billion rupees. The bank reported earnings per share of 3. 75 […]
” wedding ceremony
October 30, 2010 (AFP) – The Maldivian government has apologised to a European couple abused as “swine” and “infidels” during what was supposed to be a romantic renewal of wedding vows in the Indian Ocean archipelago. Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed “personally apologised” to the couple in a telephone conversation on Saturday afternoon, his office said […]
Garden Path
Oct 30, 2010 (LBO) – Investors in Sri Lanka’s failed high-yield financial firms have lost more money than they should have by delaying liquidation and pressuring someone else to put additional cash to cover their losses, a legal expert has said. Neomal Gunewardene, partner of Nithya Partners, a law firm, said depositors in failed financial […]
Thai Crackdown
BANGKOK, October 30, 2010 (AFP) – Thai authorities have arrested 61 Tamil migrants from Sri Lanka, police said Saturday, in the second such crackdown in recent weeks. After a tip-off, 114 people were rounded up in the southern province of Songkhla on Thursday, but some were freed because they were able to present valid travel […]
Growth Area
Oct 30, 2010 (LBO) – A new Sri Lankan investment fund that opened for subscription Friday is targeting the banking sector which is seen doing well given the need for funding to fuel an economic boom, officials said. “We expect many new projects to need financing in the fast growing sectors of the economy. ” […]
Sri Lanka settles commercial bank overdrafts, Central Bank credit
Oct 29, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has settled high cost overdrafts from commercial banks and central bank credit taken to bridge the budget deficit with proceeds of a Euro bond which had contributed to excess reserves in the banking system, officials said. Record excess liquidity in the banking system which topped 80 billion rupees […]
Sri Lanka govt seeks more revenue from liquor, cigarettes
Oct 29, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government is seeking to increase revenue for its cash-strapped Treasury by jacking up taxes on cigarettes and liquor, days ahead of the presentation of its annual budget, officials said. The tax on cigarettes has been raised by a rupee and that on a litre of 100 percent […]