Author: lbostgadmin
‘ intervention calming markets
BRUSSELS, Aug 13, 2007 (AFP) – The emergency action taken by central banks, injecting money into the banking system, appears to have had the desired effect of calming down the financial markets, the European Commission said Monday. “We are following developments. We do note that markets appear to have calmed,” said Maximilian Strotmann, spokesman for […]
Car Drive
August 13, 2007 (LBO) – HNB Assurance net profit after tax rose 17 percent to 10.9 million rupees for the second quarter ended June 2007 with revenue from motor insurance growing strongly. Gross written premium revenue for the period was up 32 percent to 322 million rupees, according to interim results. In the six months […]
Chock Full
August 13, 2007 (LBO) – Congestion in Asian ports like Colombo is affecting cargo flows to the United States and ship schedules with the squeeze expected to continue into the next year, a body representing major shipping lines has said. Forward bookings suggest that the trend will continue into August, and retailers forecasts record eastbound […]
”, urged to change attitudes
August 13, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankans need to change attitudes that are holding the country back despite it being reasonably well endowed with human and natural resources, a top economic analyst has said. Anila Dias Bandaranaike, a former director of statistics at Central Bank who had gained widespread respect for her independent analysis of […]
Sri Lanka can wipe out poverty in a generation with working policies: development economist
August 12, 2007 (LBO) – If market reforms and globalization that brought prosperity to Sri Lanka’s Western Province could be replicated countrywide, extreme poverty could be eliminated in a generation, a development economist said. Many economists had pointed out that Sri Lanka is held back by policy errors, despite being rich in human, natural resources […]
Rains, troop shortages prevent Sri Lanka push against rebels
Aug 12, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military has been unable to push into Tamil Tiger strongholds in the north due to the threat of monsoon rains and a lack of manpower, defence officials and analysts say.The rebels are fighting for an independent homeland for the island’s minority Tamils.More than 60,000 people have been killed […]
Fresh Sri Lanka violence kills 12
Aug 12, 2007 (AFP) – At 12 people have been killed in fresh violence across Sri Lanka’s northern and eastern regions where a bitter ethnic war has raged for decades, military and Tamil rebel sources said Sunday.The ethnic conflict has claimed more than 60,000 lives since 1972.Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels set off a powerful land […]
Investors brace themselves for another roller coaster week
NEW YORK, Aug 12, 2007 (AFP) – Investors are girding for fresh stock turmoil in the coming week after riding a roller-coaster on world markets in recent days, amid fears that US home loan woes could trigger a credit crunch.“The biggest favor he (Bernanke) could do for himself and the markets is not to give […]
Sri Lanka Tourist Hotels Association elects Cooray as president
August 12, 2007 (LBO) – The Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka has elected as its president Hiran Cooray of Jetwing Hotels, a tour operator with a chain of hotels that’s also promoting eco-tourism in a big way. Four vice presidents were also elected at the association’s annual general meeting representing different segments of the […]
Living Free
August 12, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government doctors have ordered more than two hundred luxury sports utility vehicles as a scheme to give duty-slashed vehicles to state workers gets under way. So far 1,200 applications for vehicles have been processed in a scheme to give 25,000 duty slashed vehicles to senior government workers, ETV’s […]
Corruption costs Sri Lanka 2% economic growth: senior economist
August 11, 2007 (LBO) – Public sector corruption in Sri Lanka is a key factor driving poverty and the country is losing two percentage points of economic growth a year from resources lost to sleaze, a senior economist said. He said another key cause of poverty was inflation, which affected the poor most because their […]
Global markets head down despite central banks printing billions in new cash
PARIS, Aug 11, 2007 (AFP) – US home loan woes caused more turmoil on world markets Friday despite the tens of billions of dollars released by central banks to stop the problem turning into a global economic crisis. A shortage of liquidity would restrict the ability of companies, and eventually consumers, to borrow, potentially slowing […]