Category:
US stock markets gain as rate cut sensed
NEW YORK, Dec 7, 2007 (AFP) – Wall Street enters the home stretch of 2007 in an upbeat mood as investors brace for a meeting of the Federal Reserve which is widely expected to yield a third straight cut in US interest rates. Bond prices weakened in the past week as investors moved into stocks. […]
‘s Ranatunga warns of talent drought
Dec 8, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s legendary cricketer Arjuna Ranatunga on Saturday expressed concern about the lack of new talent emerging to replace the island’s ageing superstars.“We do not see any top talent coming up to replace great players like Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara,” Ranatunga said at a ceremony to commend Muralitharan on […]
Sri Lanka face aggressive England
Dec 8, 2007 (AFP) – England coach Peter Moores wants his team to be streetwise and aggressive as the tourists bid for a series-levelling win in the second Test against Sri Lanka starting on Sunday.England lost the first Test in Kandy by 88 runs despite holding a first innings lead of 93 runs and failed […]
Sri Lanka Tiger linked Malaysian Tamils may be detained: report
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8, 2007 (AFP) – Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has reportedly warned that ethnic Indian activists accused of having links with Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers could be held under internal security laws. Ethnic rights group Hindraf, which organised mass anti-discrimination protests in November that were broken up with tear gas and […]
Logistics Nightmare
Dec 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s logistics industry is calling for action to get a paperless cargo clearing system on track, through a new operator or allowing competition, five years after a part state-owed firm was given the task. Logistics and shipping firms that wanted to cut cost and speed up cargo clearance are […]
Union Outlook
Dec 07, 2007 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings Sri Lanka has lifted Union Bank of Colombo’s outlook on its BB + (lka) rating to ‘positive’ from ‘stable’ citing an asset quality improvement. “The recent equity injections and the benefits expected, specifically to profitability and scalability of the bank’s business is reflected in the revision of the […]
Forewarned
Dec 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s private sector credit is slowing but lenders should tighten standards and improve risk management as interest rates continue to rise, the Central Bank has warned. In a report on the island’s financial sector stability, the regulator said private sector credit has grown around 24-26 percent in the first […]
Sri Lanka power fails island wide
Dec 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s national power system failed shortly before dawn Friday, plunging the island in darkness as a thermal generator tripped out of the grid, officials said. A combined cycle thermal power plant at Sri Lanka’s state-owned Ceylon Electricity Board’s (CEB) Kelanitissa thermal generation complex had tripped at 4.48 am local […]
Sri Lanka tableware exporter goes niche
Dec 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tableware exporters Dankotuwa Porcelain has said it is shifting strategy away from mass production to focus on specialty designs for niche markets. The move is in response to growing competition from cheaper manufacturers in other Asian origins, especially those with access to cheap energy. “It is impossible to […]
US mortgage aid plan to ease housing slump, but at a price
WASHINGTON, Dec 6, 2007 (AFP) – A vast mortgage relief package brokered by the Bush administration is likely to ease the pain of the US housing slump but with an uncertain cost for markets and the financial system, analysts say.“That’s a loss for mortgage holders but it’s a smaller loss than would come from foreclosure,” […]
Japan cuts third-quarter growth estimate
TOKYO, Dec 7, 2007 (AFP) – Japan’s economy grew at an annualised pace of 1.5 percent in the third quarter of 2007, much less than an initial estimate of a 2.6 percent expansion, the government said Friday. But the world’s second-largest economy saw a recovery after shrinking in the second quarter, buoyed by brisk exports […]
Railway Repair
Dec 06, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to rehabilitate a tsunami-hit coastal railway line at a cost of 167.4 million dollar using an Indian credit line, a minister said. The proposed project that extends the railway line beyond Matara, a town in the southern tip of the island, will be completed within three years, […]