Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lankan stocks close up 1.82-pct
July 20, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed up passing the 4,800 point mark Tuesday with price gains across the board, while large deals on Dankotuwa Porcelain and John Keells Holdings (JKH) boosted turnover, brokers said. Dialog Axiata closed at 10.00 rupees, up 10.00 with 8.1 million shares traded, and Sri Lanka Telecom closed […]
Sri Lanka central bank independence hurt by law
July 19, 2010 (LBO) – A groundbreaking book by a former Sri Lankan central banker has shown how the institutions independence could be improved so that it can better resist fiscal and political pressure to print money and generate inflation. Economic analysts have warned that direct subscriptions to Treasury bill auctions is a ‘quantity easing’ […]
Sri Lanka shares end up 1.12-pct
July 19, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed up Monday, lifted by speculative buying mainly by retailers with brokers urging investors to be more careful and focus on fundamentals as company earnings were improving. Some sectors remained attractive like plantations, manufacturing, banks and finance, he said. Ceylon & Foreign Trades was the day’s highest […]
Sri Lankan central banker writes pro-poor book
July 17, 2010 (LBO) – A former Sri Lankan central banker has written a book that can open the eyes of third world policy makers and impoverished citizens helping them escape state-induced poverty caused by high inflation. “Money does not raise economic growth, but it is the fundamental cause of high rate of inflation that […]
Sri Lanka former war zone economy grows: central bank
July 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s northern and eastern provinces slightly increased their share of national Gross Domestic Product last year compared with 2008 following the end of a war, the Central Bank said. The western province remained as the highest contribution to GDP in 2009 but its share reduced further to 45. 1 […]
Sri Lanka appoints rating advisors
July 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has appointed Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and The Royal Bank of Scotland as rating advisors for four years, the Central Bank said. Sri Lanka wants to push its speculative sovereign rating to investment grade by 2014. The Central Bank has also […]
Sri Lankan stocks close up 0.84-pct
July 15, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed higher Thursday from price gains on manufacturing, hotel, hospital and banking shares, while retail investors continued to trade on speculative ‘penny’ stocks, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 4,638.71, up 38.49 points, while the Milanka index of more liquid shares rose 0.99 percent […]
Sri Lanka mobile users up 30-pct in first quarter
July 15, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s mobile phone subscribers grew 30 percent to 15. 0 million in the first quarter of 2010, while fixed wireless users grew 4.7 percent and wireline users were flat, official data show. Fixed wireless subscribers grew to 2. 58 million users in the first quarter from 2. 47 users […]
IMF to hire more Asians
Daejeon, KOREA July 14, 2010 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) plans to hire more Asians as it undergoes reforms and seeks to improve relations with Asia which is increasing its economic clout, a senior official said. Strauss-Kahn said that now 40 percent of his management team is from Asia. “So among the management […]
Sri Lanka bond prices to be made transparent
July 14, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s bond prices will be made more transparent and a sovereign yield curve for the country is being developed with the country’s central bank Bloomberg, an international financial news and information provider said. The yield curve has become more market driven of late though some state-centric incestuous practices such […]
Sri Lanka Treasuries fall after rate cut
July 14, 2010 (LBO ) – Sri Lanka’s Treasuries yields fell Wednesday in the wake of a 25 basis point rate cut the previous Friday, according to auction results released by the government’s debt office. The 3-month yield fell 9 basis points to 7.98 percent, the 6-month yield fell 21 basis points to 8. 75 […]
Sri Lankan shares close up 0.97-pct
July 14, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks closed up Wednesday as investors re-entered the market looking for bargains, while ‘penny’ stocks continued to be actively traded despite wide price fluctuations, brokers said. Seylan Merchant Bank closed at 1.70 rupees, down 10 cents with over 11 million shares traded, while Piramal Glass of Ceylon closed […]