Author: lbostgadmin
‘s Hapugastenne estate profit soars on high tea prices, asset sales
August 27, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hapugastenne Plantations said net profit for the June quarter shot up 472 percent to 170 million rupees with the bottom line being boosted by high low grown tea prices and profit from asset sales. Revenue for the quarter was up 39 percent to 705 million rupees, according to […]
Sri Lanka forex market uncertainty returns; no two way quotes yet
August 27, 2007 (LBO) – Expectations that two-way quotes would resume and exporters would start selling in Sri Lanka’s forex markets were dashed early Monday after official interventions spread unease among dealers.Banks stopped quoting two-way in the interbank forex market after the central bank started intervening and terrorizing dealers a few weeks ago. Heavy central […]
‘s biggest Buddhist pageant goes ahead despite bomb scare
Aug 26, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka police Sunday defused a powerful bomb near the route of a major Buddhist festival in the sacred city of Kandy, officials said.Police removed the three-kilogramme (6.6 pound) bomb from an abandoned building near a path taken by the Kandy Perahera, or pageant which moves through the city’s streets, […]
Sri Lanka defence analyst silenced amid fears for life
Aug 26, 2007 (AFP) – A top Sri Lankan defence columnist stopped writing fearing for his life after he exposed alleged corruption in the purchase of second-hand supersonic jets, the Sunday Times weekly said.The “Situation Report” by Iqbal Athas was not being published Sunday after the government withdrew police body guards who had been assigned […]
Victims tell how Hyderabad laser show crowd was struck by bombs
HYDERABAD, India, Aug 26, 2007 (AFP) – Romanna was bleeding and in shock after being wounded in a series of terror blasts that rocked this southern Indian city late Saturday, killing 36 people and injuring 60. A string of explosions went off in an auditorium packed with families watching a laser show, while other blasts […]
” as blasts kill 42
HYDERABAD, India, Aug 26, 2007 (AFP) – Indian security forces launched a manhunt Sunday for those behind twin bombings in the southern city of Hyderabad that killed 42 people, with officials pinning the blame on Islamic militants.More than 50 others were injured in the blasts late Saturday, which ripped through a packed street restaurant in […]
Banking Revolution
August 25, 2007 (LBO) – Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank has reached out to 124 million poorest families globally during its 31 years of existence, its founder, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus says. The Grameen Bank reaches into ‘risky market segments that formal banking sectors in poor countries dare not reach, touching the lives of millions of people. […]
China pledges investment to tackle pollution
BEIJING, Aug 25, 2007 (AFP) – China will invest more than 1.33 billion yuan (176 million dollars) to clean up the environment after decades of frantic economic growth, state media said Saturday. The money will be earmarked mainly for monitoring and reducing pollutant emissions, and for a new system of emission trading, the China Daily […]
‘s Tata confirms interest in Land Rover, Jaguar
NEW DELHI, Aug 24, 2007 (AFP) – The head of India’s Tata conglomerate confirmed Friday that his group was interested in bidding for luxury British car brands Jaguar and Land Rover, in an interview with an Indian news channel.Last month, Indian news reports said that two Indian automakers — Tata Motors and the Mahindra group […]
Shell accuses Argentina of discrimination in fuel battle
BUENOS AIRES, Aug 24, 2007 (AFP) – Anglo-Dutch oil company Royal Dutch/Shell, whose top executives are under threat of arrest, accused the Argentine government of “discrimination” in a page-wide advert published Friday in leading newspapers.“The discrimination Shell is being subjected to is inadmissible,” said company president Juan Aranguren in the statement, adding that the firm […]
Venezuela consolidates Zimbabwe path
CARACAS, Aug 24, 2007 (AFP) – Lawmakers Friday launched a national campaign for constitutional reform to consolidate President Hugo Chavez’s power and socialist agenda that a weak and splintered opposition seems powerless to stop.With Chavez loyalists taking up all 167 seats of the single-chamber legislature, the constitutional reform is assured passage before it is put […]
Wall Street steadies, but more to come
NEW YORK, Aug 24, 2007 (AFP) – Wall Street found its footing over the past week after the market’s drubbing earlier this month, as investors pondered whether the storm over housing and a related credit squeeze was over. Despite a strong rebound in the week to Friday, analysts said they expect nervous trading ahead with […]