Author: lbostgadmin
Parliament votes down Japanese central bank governor nominee
TOKYO, March 12, 2008 (AFP) – Japanese opposition lawmakers Wednesday voted down Bank of Japan deputy Toshiro Muto as the next central bank chief, defying the government which refused to look for a new candidate.Relations between the two main parties have been severely strained by a string of disputes culminating in the ruling coalition ramming […]
Changing Skyline
March 12, 2008 (LBO) – An Indian property developer has inked a deal with Sri Lanka’s investment promotion agency to get tax concessions for an apartment complex in a Colombo suburb. However the interest rate structure started to get corrected last year following tighter monetary policy by the central bank, making less money available for […]
Niche Strategy
March 12, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s high inflation, which is shrinking the incomes of consumers, should be reduced to promote economic activity, a top consumer durables firm which is feeling the pinch of rising prices has said. Singer Sri Lanka is targeting high-end customers as the country’s mass market turned sluggish in the face […]
Sri Lanka sells bills over auction offer; rates steady
Mar 12, 2008 (LBO) — Sri Lanka sold 10.8 billion rupees of Treasury bills at an auction Wednesday without moving rates up, the government’s debt office data showed, but it was later offering more bills at average rates, dealers said.However, analysts say in the past excess liquidity had been inflationary in Sri Lanka due to […]
Pricey Fuel
March 11, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-owned petroleum utility plans to tie up with global ship supplier GAC Ships to sell bunkers or ship fuel in Colombo port, its chairman Ashantha de Mel said. . The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation’s plans to re-enter the bunker market will likely bring down prices in Colombo. “We’re in […]
Former guerrillas sweep polls in eastern Sri Lanka
BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka, March 11, 2008 (AFP) – A pro-government Tamil rebel group won a majority in almost all the local councils that went to the polls in Sri Lanka’s volatile east, officials results showed Tuesday.The armed Tamil People’s Liberation Party (TMVP) secured 72 out of the 101 seats in Monday’s vote to elect officials […]
Sri Lanka Cricket chief fears player exodus
March 11, 2008 (AFP) – Young cricketers may soon opt out of playing for their country because of the huge amounts of money available in the sport, Sri Lanka’s cricket chief Arjuna Ranatunga said on Tuesday. Ranatunga, Sri Lanka’s World Cup-winning captain in 1996, said he was worried about the future of younger players who […]
Wall St. pummeled despite Fed printing; oil 108, Blackstone reveals a loss
NEW YORK, March 10, 2008 (AFP) – US stocks sustained a fresh beating Monday as oil prices briefly rocketed to fresh highs above 108 dollars a barrel and as The Blackstone Group private equity firm announced a big quarterly loss. Financial stocks fell heavily through the day in the wake of Blackstone’s revelation and as […]
Money printing, inflation hit Iranian voters despite oil wealth
TEHRAN, March 11, 2008 (AFP) – High inflation, unemployment, slack monetary policy and a lack of foreign investment: Iran is suffering from a litany of economic problems ahead of Friday’s legislative elections.President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad swept to power in 2005 on a platform to make the poor — many of whom have left villages to swell […]
Asian stocks close mostly up after late rally
HONG KONG, March 11, 2008 (AFP) – Asian stocks closed mostly up after a late rally Tuesday as bargain hunters emerged despite earlier US share price falls sparked by growing worries over a global credit crunch.Most markets around the region reversed early losses to turn higher in late trade, after suffering steep falls on Monday. […]
Brazil tops five million hybrid cars, makes 22bn litres of ethanol in 2007
SAO PAULO, March 10, 2008 (AFP) – More than five million vehicles and almost nine in ten new vehicles in Brazil now run on both gasoline and ethanol derived from sugar cane, the car manufacturing association Anfavea said Monday. Anfavea president Jackson Schneider told reporters in Sao Paulo that Brazil — a pioneer in biofuels […]
Singapore family charged with maid abuse: report
SINGAPORE, March 11, 2008 (AFP) – A Singapore teenager and her family have been charged with physically assaulting an Indonesian maid, including pulling out her teeth and pouring hot wax on her, the Straits Times reported Tuesday.More than 140,000 domestic workers mainly from Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, work in Singapore.Cases of employers abusing […]