Category: Economy and Markets
‘s high deficit spending hurt investment capital: analysts
Dec 04, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s deficit spending, heavy state consumption, opaque monetary and fiscal policies and resulting high inflation has stifled investment credit markets and skewed savers towards the short term, analysts have said.“Vacillating primary account deficits meant volatile interest rates, further hampering any viable termed out structure of savings, of whatever savings […]
Sri Lanka to rebuild northern town
Dec 04, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to spend 15 billion rupees on rebuilding a northern town that was affected by fighting between security forces and Tamil Tiger separatists, the Ministry of Urban Development said.It said in a statement that an entirely new city will be built in the town of Vavuniya under the […]
Sri Lanka stocks close down 0.14-pct on profit taking
Dec 04, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed down Friday as retail investors were seen taking profits from this week’s rally, while big trades in John Keells Holdings (JKH) and Distilleries Company pushed turnover levels up, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 3,000.33 down 0.14 percent (4.28 points) while the Milanka […]
Bernanke to face stormy confirmation hearing
WASHINGTON, December 3, 2009 (AFP) – Lawmakers are likely to vent frustration over the economy and bailout of the financial system Thursday at a Senate confirmation hearing for Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. The powerful central bank chief is nonetheless expected to win approval for a second four-year term from the Banking Committee and the […]
Sri Lanka central bank lashes out at exporters engaging in policy debate
Dec 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has lashed out at exporters who engaged in a policy debate on the island’s exchange rate saying they were “partisan” and were “driven by personal interests”, unlike its own stance which was “professional”. The Central Bank has been under fire for creating high inflation from 2004, […]
Sri Lankan stocks up 1.78-pct
Dec 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks extended gains and rose above the 3,000-point mark on the benchmark index Thursday boosted by high volume transactions on Hatton National Bank (HNB) and John Keells Holdings (JKH), brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 3,004.61 up 1.78 percent (52.45 points) while the Milanka Price […]
Sri Lanka bill yields up
Dec 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Treasury bill yields have started to move up across the board, at Wednesday’s auction the government debt office said, as private sector credit demand picked up and inflation concerns re-emerged. The 3-month yield rose 15 basis points to 7.40 percent, the 6-month yield rose 09 basis points to […]
Gold price storms to record above 1,200 dollars
LONDON, December 1, 2009 (AFP) – The price of gold reached above 1,200 dollars an ounce for the first time on Tuesday as a weak US currency pushed up demand for the precious metal viewed as a safe-haven investment, analysts said. Gold struck a record high 1,201.63 dollars an ounce on the London Bullion Market […]
Sri Lanka private sector credit turns corner in Sept
Dec 02, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s private sector credit started expanding in September 2009 ending eight months of contraction and the Central Bank says it would like to see more credit growth before tightening monetary policy.Growing private sector credit demand could also push risk free yields up as the risk appetite of banks increase. […]
Sri Lankan shares close up 1.33-pct on JKH sale
Dec 02, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed up Monday boosted by the sale of 7.5 million John Keells Holdings (JKH) shares in an otherwise dull trading day, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 2,952.16, up 1.33 percent (38.77 points) while the Milanka Price Index of more liquid stocks closed at […]
Sri Lanka DFCC Bank stake sold by Galleon
Nov 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares ended higher Monday with trading boosted by the sale of shares in DFCC by the Galleon hedge fund of billionaire Raj Rajaratnam, facing insider dealing charges in the US, brokers said. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 […]
Sri Lanka inflation accelerates to 2.8-pct in November
Nov 30, 2009 (LBO) – Consumer prices in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo rose 2.8 percent in November 2009 from a year earlier, against 1.4 percent in October, indicating inflation is picking up, the government’s statistics office and analysts said. The statistics office said that in November 2009, the 12-month moving average, a seasonally adjusted inflation […]