Category:
Shattered Hopes
DUBAI, Jan 24, 2008 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan maid, in transit on her way home from Kuwait to see her children for the first time in three years, hanged herself in a toilet at Dubai airport, an Emirati daily said on Thursday.The report came just two days after the oil-rich Gulf states reached agreement […]
LawAsiaICT2008
Jan 24, 2008 (LBO) — Sri Lankan regulators should look for all options to bring down the cost of mobile phone ownership as the industry has emerged as a key driver of economic growth, the head of the island’s top celco has said.Business drivers in emerging markets like Sri Lanka need to make services more […]
Digital TV
Jan 24, 2008 (LBO) – Mobile operator Dialog Telekom’s digital broadcasting of terrestrial television via standard broadcast frequencies will be less costly for content providers and increase reception throughout Sri Lanka, company officials said. Dialog’s Terrestrial Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB-T) pilot project was launched Wednesday covering areas north of the capital Colombo like the Wattala […]
Rogue trader hits Societe Generale with 7 billion dollar loss
PARIS, Jan 24, 2008 (AFP) – Trading in shares of Societe Generale was supended on Thursday after the French banking giant announced a sole trader was responsible for racking up 4.9 billion euros (7.15 billion dollars) in losses. Societe Generale announced earlier Thursday that a single trader was responsible for a massive 4. 9 billion […]
‘s economic growth hits 13-year high amid inflation fears
BEIJING, Jan 24, 2008 (AFP) – China’s economy grew a blistering 11.4 percent in 2007, reaching its highest level in 13 years, the government said Thursday, warning more needed to be done to address the rising threat of inflation. China’s policy-makers have long complained that consumption is too small and the savings rate too high, […]
NZealand central bank leaves interest rates unchanged
WELLINGTON, Jan 23, 2008 (AFP) – New Zealand’s central bank left interest rates unchanged Thursday, saying the economy was in good shape despite recent global market turmoil and fears of a recession in the US. Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Governor Alan Bollard left the official cash rate on hold at 8.25 percent, one […]
Fed blunders under spotlight as ECB stands tall
PARIS, Jan 23, 2008 (AFP) – A stunning interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve, followed by a clear signal from its European counterpart that it would not follow suit, illustrates sharp differences in the operating mandates of the two central banks. In Washington Tuesday, the Fed rode to the rescue of global stock […]
Sri Lanka police say mass grave found
Jan 24, 2008 (AFP) – The bodies of at least 16 people have been found in a mass grave in a government-controlled area of north-central Sri Lanka, police said Thursday.The decomposed bodies were found by local residents in the district of Anuradhapura, 206 kilometres (130 miles) north of Colombo, police said. “Investigations have now begun […]
Sri Lanka panel urges power-sharing to end bloodshed
Jan 24, 2008 (AFP) – A peace panel including ruling party politicians told Sri Lanka’s president to devolve more power to minority Tamils as a first step to resolving the island’s long-running ethnic war, officials said Thursday.The panel, made up of President Mahinda Rajapakse’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party lawmakers and their allies, has been mulling […]
Sri Lanka rupee gains against greenback, forward premiums fall
Jan 23, 2008 (LBO) — The Sri Lanka rupee traded under 108.00 to the US dollar and overnight money fell from peaks above 20 percent in early trading Wednesday as the dollar weakened in international markets following a surprise rate cut, dealers said. The rupee traded around 107.88/108.92 in late trading as a state name […]
Sri Lanka looks to cut costs on sovereign bond
Jan 23, 2008 (LBO) — Sri Lanka is looking to cut interest costs on a fixed coupon 500 million dollar sovereign bond by using derivatives Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said, as US interest rates continue to fall.Since then the rupee has been stable, making dollar loans – at whatever price – much cheaper than […]
Safe Place
Jan 23, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is a safe place to travel in, Sri Lanka’s chief justice Sarath Silva told delegates of an international law conference in Colombo this week. “Our image is not the best, but I can assure you that this is a very safe place,” Silva told foreign delegates of the […]