Sri Lanka wins with Mendis magic

TORONTO, October 10, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s latest spin sensation Ajantha Mendis took three wickets and was named man of the match as his side clinched a five-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the first game of the Canada T20 event here on Friday. Mendis, recently named the ICC’s Emerging Player of the Year, finished […]

Wall Street searches for bottom after worst weekly pounding

NEW YORK, October 11, 2008 (AFP) – Wall Street’s worst meltdown in recent memory ended the week with a whimper, leaving panicked investors wondering whether the vicious selloff will end soon or will keep ravaging the market. Ironically, some analysts say the meltdown on Wall Street and other global markets could mean a “bottom” has […]

Sri Lanka central bank intervening for stability: Governor

Oct 10, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank is intervening in forex markets to maintain stability and the monetary authority has bought more dollars than it sold this year, Governor Nivard Cabraal said amidst concerns that the rupee is under pressure. “Our intervention is still on the positive side,” Cabraal said.“We have intervened to […]

Sri Lanka shares plunge in widespread sell-off

Oct 10, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan share prices fell sharply Friday as investors appeared unnerved by the global stock market rout, with the benchmark index slumping below the psychologically important 2,000 point mark, brokers said. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 The All Share […]

Shipping Trends

Oct 10, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Colombo port needs to move fast to build new deep-water terminals if it is to remain competitive, a senior official of the local office of Maersk, the world’s biggest shipping line, has said.While the state-owned Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) can be developed it needs to increase efficiency. “Additional […]

More Funds

Oct 10, 2008 (LBO) – Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) said it has strengthened the capital base of its UK subsidiary, HSBC Bank, through an equity injection of 750million pounds. The bank said in a statement the capital injection, representing one per cent of the total shareholders’ equity of the HSBC Group as at […]

Bank Rating

Oct 10, 2008 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Lanka Friday affirmed Sri Lanka’s DFCC Vardhana Bank’s (DVB) National Long-term rating at ‘AA-(lka)’ with a stable outlook.Its gross NPL ratio slipped to 10.7 percent at H108 from 5.9 percent at FYE06 on account of weakened macro conditions, and partially owing to the regulatory change in classification of […]

‘s Jaffna to get new power plant

Oct 10, 2008 (LBO) – A new 36 MegaWatt power plant that will come online in the northern Jaffna peninsular at the end of the month ending power cuts in the area, officials said. At the moment the Jaffna grid of the state-run Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), is isolated from the rest of the national […]

Fear over capital in bank street feeds recession wind in main street

PARIS, October 10, 2008 (AFP) – Businesses needing cash by the end of the month or students seeking a loan for this academic year can expect a hard time at the bank despite blockbuster steps this week to burst the credit dam.The official onslaught — huge bank bailouts, savings protection, floods of central bank money […]

Golden paydays for bankers are over, lawmakers say

PARIS, October 10, 2008 (AFP) – While governments worldwide have not yet agreed on a solution to fix the current global economic crisis, nearly all agree on the cause of the problem: the large bonuses awarded to executives.Bankers’ bonuses have come under scrutiny as taxpayers money is being used to bail out ailing financial institutions. […]

Crisis talks due in Washington; markets in tailspin

TOKYO, October 10, 2008 (AFP) – The world’s major economies were to hold crisis talks later Friday in an attempt to end a massive sell-off on the global stock markets, as Asian shares were hit by another day of panic selling. The talks in Washington were expected to see finance ministers and central bankers from […]

Asian stocks dive as panic erupts over financial crisis

TOKYO, October 10, 2008 (AFP) – Asian stock markets went into a tailspin Friday, with Tokyo down more than 10 percent as fresh panic erupted over fears that authorities are unable to contain the global financial crisis.Bucking the trend was Moscow, where the leading stock markets closed around 10 percent higher, rebounding from the previous […]

Page 2244 of 3385