Category: Economy

KARADIYANARU, September 18, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lankan authorities on Saturday probed negligence as a possible cause of a powerful blast at a dynamite depot in the island’s east that killed 25 people. The military said that 16 policemen, two Chinese contractors and seven Sri Lankan civilians died in Friday’s explosion in Batticaloa district, while […]

DHAKA, September 19, 2010 (AFP) – Global retailers fleeing China’s rising labour costs now find themselves facing growing pressure for higher wages in countries from Bangladesh to Cambodia, Vietnam, India and Indonesia. The latest sign that workers are becoming more militant in their demands for a larger share of the region’s economic success came in […]

KARADIYANARU, September 18, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lankan authorities Saturday began clearing rubble and wreckage after 25 people were killed in the first major explosion since the end of a decades-long civil war. Heavy earth-moving equipment was being brought to the village of Karadiyanaru, in the east of the island, as families of victims prepared […]

HONG KONG, September 17, 2010 (AFP) – The price of gold struck a record high above 1,280 US dollars an ounce in Hong Kong trade on Friday. Gold is seen as a safe haven investment and also a hedge against inflation. The precious metal rose to 1,280. 20 US dollars an ounce in afternoon trading, […]

JAKARTA, September 17, 2010 (AFP) – The International Monetary Fund warned Friday Indonesia must make fighting corruption a priority if it wants to build on its progress as one of the world’s best-performing economies. Southeast Asia’s biggest economy expanded 4.5 percent in 2009, the third fastest in the Group of 20, and is poised for […]

September 17, 2010 – Sri Lanka’s military more than halved the estimated death toll from an accidental blast at an explosives depot on Friday, saying 27 people had been killed instead of 60. The nearest hospital to the site of the accident, in the town of Batticaloa, said several people injured in the blast had […]

Sept 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will rebuild two fishery harbours in the north of the island as part of a strategy to develop maritime resources in the region which is recovering from a war, a government minister said. “This is a clear indication of the governments vision in moving forward in the development […]

Sept 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economy is estimated to have grown by 8.5 percent during the second quarter of 2010 from a year earlier, which is the highest quarterly growth rate recorded since 2002, the government’s statistics office said. Higher costs had reduced chicken production by 5.2 percent and eggs by 0.9 percent. […]

TOKYO, September 15, 2010 (AFP) – Japan on Wednesday intervened in currency markets for the first time since 2004 in a bid to stem the yen’s appreciation against the dollar, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said. The dollar had hit a fresh 15-year low of 82. 86 yen in Tokyo before gaining sharply following the intervention, […]

Sept 15, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Securities and Exchange Commission has ordered brokering firms to “absolutely refrain” from giving credit for clients to trade in stocks as rising prices reduced the immediate risk of delaying payment. In Sri Lanka purchases have to be settled in three days (T+3). However clients could continue to get […]

Sept 14, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka budget deficit up to June 2010 is on track with projected numbers though deficit monetization in subsequent weeks points to greater net cash deficits, official data show. Tax revenues picked up 16.0 percent to 309 billion rupees in the first six months of the year from a year […]

Sept 14, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s statistics office has completed most of the preliminary work to conduct its first island-wide population count in 30-years with a ‘pilot census’ to begin in October, an official said. The census office started piling work a new building in Battaramulla, near Sri Lanka’s parliament Tuesday. The 62 year […]