Author: lbostgadmin
Sri Lanka shares soar to record high, foreigners sell
Oct 05, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed at a record high Monday with foreign investors being net sellers, brokers said. The All Share Price Index (ASPI) was up 2.66 percent (80.23 points) to end at 3,098.24 while the Milanka index of more liquid stocks gained 3.36 percent (113.91 points) to close at 3,508.77, […]
Sri Lanka arrests bomb disposal soldier over school van blast: police
October 3, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police on Saturday arrested a soldier from a bomb disposal unit over the bombing of a school van which killed a student and wounded 12 others, an official said.The soldier was taken into custody following Friday’s attack in Kurunegala, 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of the capital Colombo, […]
Pilots fight crew in mid-air brawl on Indian flight: report
NEW DELHI, October 4, 2009 (AFP) – Air India said on Sunday it was investigating allegations of a mid-air brawl in which pilots and cabin crew were reported to have exchanged blows in front of startled passengers.The Times of India reported that crew members threw punches and hurled abuse at each other on the flight […]
South Asia frets over high food prices
NEW DELHI, October 4, 2009 (AFP) – Ambika Biswas looks at her grocery bag and winces.She is buying food for her family in one of New Delhi’s cheapest markets — yet her grocery costs are far higher than last year. Her maid’s income of 5,000 rupees (104 dollars) a month supports her two teenage children […]
Key Players
Oct 05, 2009 (LBO) – Lanka Orix Leasing Company (LOLC) and Brown and Company Limited, two related parties may own 20 percent of Seylan Bank after a capital raising is concluded, a media report said.The Sunday Island newspaper quoting an unnamed source said LOLC and Browns had each applied for 10 percent of the expanded […]
Wife of jailed Sri Lankan reporter accepts Peter Mackler Award
WASHINGTON, October 2, 2009 (AFP) – J.S. Tissainayagam, a Tamil reporter and editor serving a 20-year prison sentence in Sri Lanka, was awarded the first Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism on Friday.The Peter Mackler Award rewards journalists who fight courageously and ethically to report the news in countries where freedom of the […]
‘s rape remark
October 3, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka lodged a protest over US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s remarks that rape had been used as a war tactic on the island, officials said Saturday.Colombo’s displeasure over a statement by Clinton to the United Nations Security Council was conveyed to US diplomats in the Sri Lankan capital, […]
Death tolls rise in disaster-struck Asia
MANILA, October 3, 2009 (AFP) – The death toll from a week of catastrophes in the Asia-Pacific rose to 1,680 Saturday as the region struggled to cope with a freak series of earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons. At least 139 people were feared dead in Samoa alone, with 129 confirmed killed and 10 missing.Another 32 were […]
Deficit Finance
Oct 03, 2009 (LBO) – First of all it’s necessary to say, that there can be several definitions of budget deficits such as the structural budget deficit, the inflation adjusted budget deficit, the nominal budget deficit, the primary budget deficit, the budget deficit on current account and the over-all budget deficit. Each definition has its […]
Share Stakes
Oct 03, 2009 (LBO) – State-run Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka (MBSL) chairman Janaka Ratnayake owns a large stake in a Ceylinco group company in which the state bank has also invested an equal stake, a listed company filing has disclosed.The Finance Company (TFC), a troubled Ceylinco group firm which is also under MBSL management, […]
Sri Lanka budget 2010 likely delayed
Oct 02, 2009 (LBO) – A decision on delaying Sri Lanka 2010 budget and seeking parliamentary approval for spending in the interim, would be made latest by next week, deputy finance minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said.But a senior official said a vote-on-account, or a mini budget for a shorter duration than a year could also presented […]
Sri Lanka accepts UN criticism of camps: minister
October 1, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Thursday said it accepted much of the United Nations’ recent criticism over its handling of 250,000 Tamils detained in camps since the end of the island’s ethnic conflict six months ago. Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe pledged the government would address recommendations made by Walter Kaelin, a […]