Sri Lanka bus blast kills 15: Police

Dec 5, 2007 (AFP) – At least 15 passengers were killed and 38 wounded Wednesday in a roadside bomb attack on a crowded bus carrying civilians in Sri Lanka’s north-central region, police said. Security forces rushed to the area following the attack carried out by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels under the cover of darkness, a […]

‘s Murali magic downs valiant England

KANDY, Sri Lanka, Dec 5, 2007 (AFP) – Muttiah Muralitharan bowled two magical deliveries when it mattered most to hand Sri Lanka an 88-run win over a fighting England in the first Test here on Wednesday.The off-spinner, who became Test cricket’s most successful bowler in the first innings, got out Matt Prior and Ian Bell […]

‘s Murali put in the dock by Aussie media

Dec 05, 2007 (LBO) – Australia’s Herald Sun newspaper has launched a poll on whether Sri Lanka’s star bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan who this week became the world’s highest Test wicket taker, is a chucker or not. . Click here to go to Murali’s Poll. The paper has announced a poll asking ‘Is Murali’s action legal?’. […]

‘s central bank leaves interest rates on hold

SYDNEY, Dec 5, 2007 (AFP) – Australia’s central bank left interest rates on hold at an 11-year high of 6.75 percent Wednesday, while warning that it remained concerned about inflationary pressures. The decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia had been widely anticipated by economists, who believed the bank was likely to take the view […]

Teen stars earn millions: US survey

LOS ANGELES, Dec 4, 2007 (AFP) – Teenage actors and singers such as 15-year-old “Hannah Montana” starlet Miley Cyrus are among the most highly paid young stars on the planet with annual income worth millions of dollars, Forbes magazine revealed Tuesday. Cyrus, daughter of the country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, recently shot to stardom in […]

Mobile Expansion

Dec 05, 2007 (LBO) – Mobitel, a celco owned by fixed operator Sri Lanka Telecom launched its third generation network in the island, saying its existing service was growing so fast it was struggling to meet demand. Studies have shown that household internet penetration to be around one percent, and most connectivity is concentrated in […]

Regional Finance

Dec 05, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sampath Bank is looking to lend more money in the Maldives with 45 million dollars raised through a syndicated loan arranged by HSBC Bank, officials said. . “We already have a portfolio of about two million dollars in the Maldives,” Samapath Bank chief Anil Amarasuriya said. The bank […]

Sri Lanka rupee gains on the greenback; intra day peak of 108.70

Dec 05, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka rupee rose sharply against the greenback in spot trade Wednesday on the back of foreign purchases of rupee bonds, dealers said.The rupee hit an intra-day high of 108.70/80 against the greenback in late afternoon trading until state names which usually represent the monetary authority started to buy into […]

Sri Lanka treasuries yields up

Dec 05, 2007 (LBO) – Yields on Sri Lanka government treasury bills rose sharply on Wednesday with the benchmark 3-month bills gaining 96 basis points to 18.03 percent, the government’s debt office said. One year yields rose 89 basis points to 19.96 percent and six months bills gained 94 basis points to 18.79 percent at […]

Sri Lanka economic shocks are home grown: IMF

Dec 04, 2007 (LBO) – Recent weaknesses in Sri Lanka’s economy have come from internal policies, and a plan to stop market pricing Diesel and Kerosene in 2008 may destabilize the economy further, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned. “Fiscal consolidation, if delivered without delay, would provide scope for private sector-led growth, reduce debt […]

Sri Lanka urges private sector to spread benefits of export success

Dec 04, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government is trying to better spread the benefits of economic growth and reduce income disparities which have widened in recent years, a senior minister said. The government wants to help the private sector to improve its links with farmers in outlying rural communities, Minister of Export Development and […]

Sri Lanka new price index shows 19.3-pct inflation

Dec 04, 2007 (LBO) – A new index to measure inflation in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, showed that prices had risen by 19.3 percent in the past 12 months, a tad lower than the 19.6 percent measured by the existing index. The government’s statistics office which computes price indices says the Colombo Consumer Price Index […]

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