Sri Lanka tea prices seen staying strong

Feb 14, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices are forecast to stay strong this year because of international supply disruptions caused by the violence in Kenya and rising demand from consumers in oil-rich countries, brokers said. “Problems in Kenya will definitely have an impact on global supply during the first quarter of 2008,” brokers […]

‘s Baurs goes deeper into infant food

Feb 14, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s diversified A. Baur & Company has launched a new powdered milk brand to boost its share in the premiumn infant milk powder business. Baurs says it already has a 20 percent market share in the infant milk powder segment. The product, ‘Enfakid’, developed by US food giant Mead […]

Sri Lanka tile shares rise on earnings outlook

Feb 14, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed virtually flat Thursday with investors chasing stocks of ceramic tile firms expected to report higher earnings on strong demand from the construction sector, brokers said. The All Share Price Index ended just one and a half points down at 2,505.90 while the more liquid Milanka index […]

Sri Lanka accuses human rights bodies of bias

Feb 13, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Wednesday accused international human rights groups of being silent in the wake of a string of bomb attacks blamed on the Tamil Tigers that killed scores of civilians including 14 school children. “None of the international human rights organizations have even raised a voice or given a statement […]

US, banks unveil aid for homeowners facing foreclosure

WASHINGTON, Feb 12, 2008 (AFP) – US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Tuesday unveiled a new private sector-led program backed by six leading home lenders to help homeowners facing foreclosure in a deepening real-estate slump to keep their homes.The plan would allow borrowers at immediate risk of losing their homes an opportunity to pause the […]

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PARIS, Feb 12, 2008 (AFP) – In a scorching annual report, Reporters Without Borders blamed Wednesday the “impotence, cowardice and duplicity” of some Western countries and top world bodies that it said threatened press freedom.“The spinelessness of some Western countries and major international bodies is harming press freedom,” said Robert Menard, head of the Paris-based […]

Security Council slams use of children in armed conflict

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 12, 2008 (AFP) – The UN Security Council on Tuesday slammed the continuing recruitment and use of children in armed conflict and deplored the systematic use of rape and other forms of sexual violence against them.It did so in a non-binding statement adopted at the end of a day-long debate attended by […]

” to Aborigines

CANBERRA, Feb 13, 2008 (AFP) – Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made an historic apology to Aborigines Wednesday for injustices committed over two centuries of white settlement, saying he wanted “to remove a great stain from the nation’s soul.” The apology represented a watershed in Australia’s often fraught history of race relations, with television networks […]

World oil market could be set for lengthy slowdown: IEA

PARIS, Feb 13, 2008 (AFP) – The world oil market could be set for a lengthy slowdown, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday, signalling a sharp shift in the climate which pushed the oil price to 100 dollars last month.The IEA is based in Paris and is an offshoot of the OECD. “Just as […]

Sri Lankan cloves prices stabilize after tumble

Feb 13, 2008 (LBO) – Prices of Sri Lankan clove have stabilized after a sharp fall last month, a senior official has said. But growers are expected to start harvesting more as prices firm and also to do replanting. Gulam Chatoor of the Spices & Allied Products Producers’ and Traders’ Association (SAPPTA) said producers and […]

Sri Lanka shares end higher on bank, ceramic interest

Feb 13, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares ended higher Wednesday on the back of Tuesday’s gains with turnover boosted by large transactions in Lanka Walltile and National Development Bank, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 2,507.42, up 12.58 points or half a percentage point while the more liquid Milanka index rose […]

Oil Trends

Feb 12, 2008 (LBO) – Lanka IOC is looking to extend its bunker business once new pipelines connecting the Colombo port with storage terminals are laid, an official said. The pipes would be laid by the common infrastructure firm, Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Ltd (CPSTL), which is jointly owned by Lanka IOC, the state-owned Ceylon […]

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