Category:
Tight Numbers
May 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Samapath Bank group net profits for the March 2008 quarter fell 24.2 percent amidst rising interest costs while revenue grew 23.2 percent, results filed with the Colombo Stock Exchange said. Group gross assets were up 0.4 percent to 137.9 billion rupees. Group net profit after tax grew to […]
Early Action
May 27, 2008 (LBO) – Financial regulators should take early preventive action and anticipate trouble spots and Sri Lanka’s banks should keep an eye on apparel firms to manage possible future risks, the island’s central bank governor said. “If necessary policy interventions are done ahead of time, interventions requiring cash could be avoided,” Cabraal said. […]
Maldives to offer 11 new islands for resort development
May 28, 2008 (AFP) – The Indian Ocean island of the Maldives plans to open 11 new islands to foreign investors to develop upmarket tourist resorts, an official said Wednesday.The government is also building 10 new regional airports to compliment the booming resort development and allow locals to commute quickly between the chain of 1,192 […]
Sri Lanka treasury bills rejected
May 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government debt office rejected bids to buy 8.5 billion rupees of treasury bills Wednesday, selling 3.2 billion rupees through the auction. The government sold 2.0 billion rupees of 6-months bills at 18.14 percent, down 16 basis points from last week. The yield on 12-month bills also fell 10 […]
African leaders criticise donor nations on trade
May 28, 2008 (AFP) – African leaders on Wednesday lashed out at rich nations for failing to tackle trade inequalities even as they make lofty pledges to boost aid.The leaders, in Japan for a major development conference, urged industrialised nations to make it easier for them to export food, coffee and other products at fair […]
Oil prices tumble from record heights
NEW YORK, May 27, 2008 (AFP) – Oil prices tumbled further from recent record peaks Tuesday as traders sold off positions amid growing fears about energy US energy demand, analysts said.They said a report showing a slump in US consumer confidence, marking the largest such fall in 16 years, and a separate survey showing the […]
Pentagon auditors unable to keep pace with spending: report
WASHINGTON, May 27, 2008 (AFP) – The Pentagon’s internal watchdog office has warned in a report to Congress made public Tuesday that its auditors are unable to keep pace with a ballooning US defense budget.The rapid growth of the defense budget to more than 600 billion dollars “leaves the department increasingly more vulnerable to fraud, […]
Beijing pollution levels hit top of scale 73 days ahead of Olympics
BEIJING, May 27, 2008 (AFP) – Pollution levels in Beijing hit the top of the scale on Tuesday, just 73 days before the Olympics, prompting a government warning for residents with respiratory problems to stay indoors.“Sensitive individuals should avoid going out of doors,” the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau said on its website, announcing that air […]
Sri Lanka business chamber condemns assault on media
May 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main business chamber Wednesday condemned recent attacks on journalists and called on the government to bring the culprits to book instead of merely promising investigations. “The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce condemns these crude attempts at violating press freedom and implores that democratic principles relating to responsible coverage by […]
Wobbly Bubble
May 28, 2008 (AFP) – Oil prices slipped back under 127 dollars on Wednesday, falling further from record highs amid concern about the strength of US energy demand while traders digested Indonesia’s exit from OPEC.“The global economy is facing the third great oil shock of recent decades,” Brown wrote in the The Guardian newspaper. “It […]
Sri Lanka meeting mulls trade-poverty nexus
May 28, 2008 (LBO) – Trade liberalisation may not necessarily lead to economic growth and lower poverty, with state intervention in recent financial crises showing the market may not have all the answers, a meeting of South Asian policy makers was told. This leads to growth which in turns results in poverty reduction. But it […]
ICRC warns rising food prices hurting the poorest in war zones
May 27, 2008 (AFP) – The head of the International Red Cross warned Tuesday that soaring food prices are exacerbating the misery of millions of poor people already suffering in war zones from Chad to Afghanistan.“The recent rise in food and fuel prices is making life even harder for poor people already struggling to cope […]