Bus bomb explodes in Sri Lanka capital

Sept 16, 2008 (LBO) – A bomb placed in a commuter bus in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo exploded after vigilant passengers discovered a suspicious parcel and got off the bus, police said.The bus was passing through the capital’s plush Colombo 7 district, when the bomb was discovered. Passengers had dis-embarked when the bomb went off, […]

Port Race

Sept 16, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is hoping to call fresh bids for a container terminal concession in an expanded port in Colombo in October, a government minister said, after an earlier bidding round was abandoned partway through the process. A breakwater to expand Colombo port is now being built with Asian Development Bank […]

Sri Lanka central bank says August money growth controlled

Sept 15, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said it had maintained targets for reserve money, in the months of July and August, which is its main operational target instead of policy rates, causing inflation and credit growth to fall. The average reserve money in August was 280.9 billion rupees, indicating a growth of […]

Credit Shuffle

Sept 15, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run petroleum utility Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) is covering overdue government accounts with an Iranian credit, but its finances are too fragile to cut prices, a top official said.Iran has given the CPC a rolling credit to cover four months of imports interest free and another three months […]

Sri Lanka PM arrives in Japan

TOKYO, September 15, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake on Monday arrived in Japan, the South Asian country’s top donor, for talks with counterpart Yasuo Fukuda, officials said.Fukuda, who abruptly resigned two weeks ago, will formally stay in office as Japan’s prime minister until parliament appoints the next prime minister following the […]

Death watch for Lehman Brothers as no buyer emerges

WASHINGTON, September 15, 2008 (AFP) – A last-ditch effort to find a buyer for troubled Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers appeared near collapse Sunday in a turbulent weekend for the finance sector.As emergency weekend talks on Lehman’s woes were being held in New York, a London source at British bank Barclays, who requested anonymity, […]

Ike damaged about 10 oil platforms: US officials

WASHINGTON, September 14, 2008 (AFP) – Hurricane Ike appears to have damaged about 10 oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, US officials said Sunday, raising concerns that the storm could hurt oil production and lead to a spike in prices at US gas stations. Eileen Angelico, a spokeswoman with the US Mineral Management Service […]

Indian shares fall 5.19 percent on opening

MUMBAI, September 15, 2008 (AFP) – Indian shares tumbled 5.19 percent within minutes of opening on Monday over fears for the global financial system as the fate of Wall Street giant Lehman Brothers hung in the balance, dealers said. The BSE benchmark 30 share Sensex index slumped 727.95 points to 13,272.86 in early morning trade. […]

Sri Lanka violence claims 21: govt

September 15, 2008 (AFP) – Fresh fighting broke out across Sri Lanka’s tense north, leaving 20 Tamil Tiger rebels and one soldier dead, the defence ministry said Monday. The ministry said 22 rebels and 14 troops were wounded in Sunday’s fighting in Weli Oya, Kilinochchi and Vavuniya. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) did […]

Sri Lanka Taj unit gets new manager

Sept 15, 2008 (LBO) – India’s Taj Group says it has appointed a new manager to the 120-room Taj Airport Garden Hotel in Seeduwa, north of the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, which is one of three hotels run by the group in the island. Mathew C Thomas has taken over as general manager from Sanjay […]

Latest Blow

WASHINGTON, September 15, 2008 (AFP) – US investment giant Lehman Brothers announced its bankruptcy early Monday as the Federal Reserve and major global banks moved to shore up financial market shaken by the housing and mortgage crisis.The Wall Street Journal warned in an editorial Monday that Americans should brace themselves for “a very rough Monday.” […]

New Printing

FRANKFURT, September 15, 2008 (AFP) – The European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE) poured billions into money markets on Monday to ensure sufficient liquidity in the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.He said he thought the Fed would try to avoid this step, which would be a “reversal of the […]

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