Author: lbostgadmin
WTO says no point in further talks on industrial products access
GENEVA, June 2, 2008 (AFP) – The WTO’s chief negotiator on freeing up access for industrial products said Monday he sees no point in further talks until member states are ready to compromise over tariffs and other key sticking points. The 152 members of the WTO need to “work among themselves to bridge their positions […]
Iceland and Norway resume whale meat exports to Japan
REYKJAVIK, June 2, 2008 (AFP) – Iceland and Norway resumed whale meat exports to Japan this year after an 18-year interruption, industry representatives from both Scandinavian countries said.“Iceland and Norway resumed exporting whale meat to Japan,” Gunnar Bergmann Jonsson, president of the Icelandic association representing Minke whale hunters, told AFP. “We (Iceland) have exported to […]
As prices rise, Americans turn to coupons, home-grown veg
WASHINGTON, June 3, 2008 (AFP) – Amid skyrocketing fuel and food prices, consumers in the United States are hitting the breaks on spending and even discovering the merits of home-grown food. With petrol prices inching toward four dollars a gallon — up 25 percent in just five months — and domestic food inflation up 6.3 […]
” noises
WASHINGTON, June 3, 2008 (AFP) – Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday the central bank is “attentive” to the sagging dollar and would look at steps “to guard against risks” to inflation from a weak currency. Bernanke, speaking via satellite to a monetary conference in Barcelona, Spain, offered a mixed assessment of US economic […]
Sri Lanka Janashakthi public offer opens June 16
June 03, 2008 (LBO) – An initial public offering of Janashakthi Insurance would open on June 16, the Colombo Stock Exchange said, making it the first initial public offering in two years. However, 30 percent revenue growth, beating the industry average in the early part of the decade, has slowed to 18 percent in 2006 […]
Sri Lanka Tigers place senior leader under house arrest: military
June 2, 2008 (AFP) – The elusive head of the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka has placed a senior rebel leader under house arrest over a worsening internal dispute, the defence ministry said Monday. Seevaratnam Prabaharan, alias Pulidevan, who is attached to the Tigers’ peace secretariat, has been placed under arrest on the direct orders […]
Sri Lanka Tigers claim civilian deaths
June 3, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan government commandos killed six civilians including two children with a roadside mine inside the Tamil Tiger-held north of the island, the rebels said Tuesday.The LTTE has been fighting to carve out a separate Tamil state in the ethnic Sinhalese-majority island since 1972. Tens of thousands have died on […]
Drug Link
June 03, 2008 (LBO) – PC Pharma, a unit of Sri Lanka’s PCH Holdings announced the launch of Bangladeshi Square Pharmaceutical products in Sri Lanka, which the firm says is competitively priced. Square Pharmaceuticals is a unit of Bangladeshi conglomerate, Square Group which has also diversified into healthcare, consumer goods and textiles, officials said. The […]
Sri Lanka rains, floods affect low country tea crop
June 03, 2008 (LBO) – Floods caused by heavy rains in southern Sri Lanka have disrupted cropping on tea plots but no serious shortfall is anticipated unless the rains continue, trade officials said. “Lasting damage is not anticipated unless earthslips cover tea bushes.” He said he expects floods to subside in 2-3 days unless the […]
Sri Lanka shares close weaker
June 3, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks closed 0.2 percent lower Tuesday amidst muted retail activity, traders said. The All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed 0.28 percent (6.98 points) lower at 2,520.43 points while the Milanka Index shed 0.20 percent (6.20 points) to close at 3,044.37. Total turnover was 187.9 million rupees and trading […]
Sri Lanka fuel subsidy fraud bared in newspaper editorial
June 02, 2008 (LBO) – An influential weekly has slammed Sri Lanka’s practice of giving subsidies in the guise of helping the common man, and exposed the depth of the deception involved in doling out diesel ‘subsidies’. “It is seldom if ever admitted that a major revenue stream for the exchequer comes from the various […]
Japan may export rice to Sri Lanka: official
TOKYO, June 2, 2008 (AFP) – Japan is mulling a request from Sri Lanka to export up to 200,000 tonnes of its imported rice supplies to help Colombo ease acute food shortages, a Japanese foreign ministry official said Monday.But Japan, Asia’s biggest economy, is sitting on a rice mountain as it needs to import 770,000 […]