Author: lbostgadmin
Black Line
August 23, 2007 (LBO) – Lanka IOC, a unit of the Indian Oil Corporation, has returned to profitability in the June quarter, posting 490 million rupees in profits, interim results filed with the Colombo Stock Exchange showed. . The firm reversed a loss of 584 million in the same quarter last year. Part of the […]
” not dramatic for global growth”: IMF
SAO PAULO, Aug 22, 2007 (AFP) – Financial markets turbulence probably will curb global economic growth slightly this year, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Rodrigo Rato, said Wednesday.“It would not be surprising if (the turmoil) had a certain impact on growth, more intense in certain countries than in others,” Rato said at […]
Sub Prime
August 23, 2007 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka has downgraded the rating outlook on Commercial Leasing Company (CLC) to ‘negative’ from ‘stable’ but said it was confirming the firm’s A- lka investment grade rating due to implied support from key shareholders. CLC’s major shareholders are Commercial Bank of Ceylon rated ‘AA+ (lka)’ and Singer (Sri […]
Good Cover
August 23, 2007 (LBO) – Allianz Lanka Insurance Company, a unit of German insurance giant Allianz SE said premium income grew 34 percent to 246 million rupees in the six months to June. Its pre-tax profits for the period shot up 275 percent to 17.4 million rupees from 4.6 million in 2006, the firm said […]
Green Path
August 23, 2007 (LBO) – The spot dollar peaked at 112.35 against the Sri Lanka rupee Thursday as the local currency sought the next resistant level, dealers said. In the cash markets interbank rates remained around 20 percent with more access to the central bank’s discount window. The market closed at 112.30/40 rupees against the […]
Sri Lanka rupee tests new lows against greenback; cash rates stabilize
August 23, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka rupee tested new lows against the greenback Thursday while overnight cash rates moderated after the monetary authority relaxed access to its discount window.In mid-day trade the spot dollar changed hands around 112.25 rupees with offers at 112.30 levels, dealers said. Official intervention was seen in the market […]
Money printing Zimbabwe eases price controls after shortages
HARARE, Aug 22, 2007 (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s government has authorised retailers to raise the prices of basic goods in order to ease widespread shortages which followed the imposition of price cuts, state media reported Wednesday. Shops and businesses which were ordered to slash their prices two months as part of a controversial crackdown on so-called […]
Young Japanese losing interest in cars, booze
TOKYO, Aug 22, 2007 (AFP) – Young Japanese are rapidly losing interest in cars and drinking and choosing instead to save their money, a survey said Wednesday. Japan is in the midst of its longest expansion in the post-World War II era, but private consumption has been stagnant. Young people in the world’s second-largest economy, […]
Double Talk
August 22, 2007 (LBO) – Hutchison Telecom’s Sri Lanka celco has doubled operating profits in the first half of 2007 and doubled subscribers in the past year, the global telecom giant said. Hutchison Telecom Lanka, the Sri Lankan mobile operations unit of Hutchison Telecom, has saw operating profits double to 31 million Hong Kong dollars […]
Sri Lanka Tata Tea unit reports lower June quarter profits
August 22, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Watawala Plantations plc, a unit of India’s Tata Teas, said net profit for the quarter ended June 2007 fell 24 percent to 35 million rupees compared with last year. Revenue rose to 917 million rupees from 802 million the year before, according to interim results released by the […]
Sri Lanka central bank opens discount window to primary dealers
August 22, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank opened its discount window to primary dealers allowing them to get overnight cash after overnight rates hit 49 percent in early trade Wednesday, dealers said.The monetary authority had cut primary dealers off the window earlier in a bid to stop arbitrage on rates with an artificially […]
Sri Lanka Treasury bill yields up; rupee eases to new low
August 22, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka rupee slipped to a new life low and three month treasury bill yields edged up 10 basis point to 17.55 percent Wednesday as the Central Bank stayed off the primary market, dealers said. Authorities have also been using heavy moral suasion to stop dealers from buying dollars […]