‘s former rebels

October 30, 2009 (AFP) – The United States on Friday announced funding for up to 1,000 former Tamil guerrillas to reintegrate in society by starting their own businesses or learning new skills. The US embassy here said they were giving equipment and supplies to ex-fighters while vocational training was also being made available to help […]

Legal Seminar

Oct 31, 2009 (LBO) – A seminar on the implications on Sri Lanka’s the new company law featuring senior legal experts targeted at educating director, chief executives, senior managers and corporate lawyers will be held on November 05. Its organizers Legal & Financial Advisory Services, a legal consultancy, and Marketing Services, a marketing consultancy, say […]

Fiscal Rates

Oct 31, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka finance ministry would issue a circular directing state banks to cut lending rates and there was a possibility of private banks being also directed to cut lending rates through the island’s monetary authority, a government minister said.Sri Lanka’s powerful president Mahinda Rajapaksa ordered state bank to cut lending […]

Sri Lanka rupee weakens against Euro helping exporters: Central Bank

Oct 30, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka rupee has weakened against the Euro and Sterling since November 2008 increasing the edge of exporters to Europe and helping offset a possible hit from lost trade concessions, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said.“It is our contention that Sri Lanka’s exporters’ competitiveness to the European Union had […]

Sri Lanka state workers receive billions in subsidized housing credits

Oct 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state workers have recieved billions of rupees of housing loans at rates as low as 4.0 percent while homeless ordinary citizens were forced pay high rates as fiscal deficits pushed interest up, it has been revealed. Under a presidential directive issued this week, state banks have been ordered […]

Sri Lanka inflation accelerates to 1.4-pct in October

Oct 30, 2009 (LBO) – Consumer prices in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo rose 1.4 percent in October 2009 from a year earlier, against 0.7 percent in September, the government’s statistics office said.Treasury pressure to print money between 2004 and 2006 and keep interest rates low pushed Sri Lanka’s inflation to above 20 percent and created […]

India inflation accelerates, paving way for rate hikes

NEW DELHI, October 29, 2009 (AFP) – India’s annual inflation rate has picked up pace, official data showed Thursday, setting the stage for higher interest rates in the months ahead.The wholesale inflation rate rose to 1.51 percent in the week to October 17 from 1.21 percent the previous week, according to the Wholesale Price Index, […]

No Accounts

Oct 30, 2009 (LBO) – Two directors of Alufab Limited, a Colombo listed company has been charged for not filing annual accounts since 2004, Sri Lanka’s Securities and Exchange Commission said.The firm had also been placed in the default board of the Colombo Stock Exchange for not filing accounts.SEC said charges had been filed in […]

Sri Lanka to import rice to buffer price spikes

Oct 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government, which is ideologically committed to domestic rice production, will import 50,000 metric tons of rice as a buffer against an ‘artificial shortfall’, a senior minister said. But analysts say because prices are kept high and fertilizer is subsidized through heavy government interventions, farmers have no incentive to […]

Sri Lankan stocks close flat, low activity

Oct 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks closed flat Friday, with retail buyers awaiting positive news on earnings and political developments, while selected financial stocks took a beating, brokers said.The All Share Index closed at 2,976.93 points down 0.23 points while the Milanka Index of more liquid stocks closed down 0.34 percent (11.30 points) […]

Norway raises rates, first in Europe in crisis

OSLO, October 28, 2009 (AFP) – Norway on Wednesday became the first European country to raise interest rates this year in the global financial crisis, which it managed to overcome thanks to its huge oil revenues. The Norwegian central bank raised its key demand deposit rate by a quarter of a point to 1.50 percent, […]

Sri Lanka 2009 end inflation to be 3.5-pct: CB Governor

Oct 29, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s inflation would be 3.5 percent by end-2009 setting the stage for lower interest rates and higher growth as investor confidence in the economy was rising, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said. “We are having inflation of one percent and we intend to keep it that way,” Cabraal told […]

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