Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka on road show to stir up debt buyers
July 16, 2009 (LBO) – Investors who met a Sri Lanka government team who are on a road show ahead of a possible debt deal are bullish on the country’s prospects after the end of a 30-year war, a top official said. “Many investors are interested in the Sri Lanka situation and are quite bullish […]
Fed sees end to recession, eyes exit strategy
WASHINGTON, July 16, 2009 (AFP) – The Federal Reserve signaled Wednesday it sees an end this year to the brutal recession and hinted that it was preparing an “exit strategy” for its unprecedented stimulus efforts.The central bank raised its outlook for 2009 and 2010 economic output, projecting a rebound in the second half of 2009 […]
Sri Lanka calls for debt relief, non-aligned emergency lender
July 16, 2009 (LBO) – Developing countries need debt relief to overcome a global economic slump, and a non-aligned emergency bailout fund, Sri Lanka’s president Mahinda Rajapaksa has said.“The world is today confronted by a crisis that is essentially the creation of the financial markets of certain developed countries,” President Rajapaksa said in the published […]
Sri Lankan shares volumes lifted by Com Bank deal
July 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed up on Wednesday as foreign interest on blue chip Commercial Bank boosted trade volumes, brokers said. National Development Bank closed at 155.75 rupees, down 1.25, while Hatton National Bank closed at 117.25 rupees, up 1.25. Hulangamuwa said the return of institutional and foreign investors would depend […]
Sri Lanka interbank excess liquidity increases
July 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s interbank excess liquidity rocketed by more than 20 billion rupees this week, with fresh injections of central bank credit to the system in the manner of a quantity easing exercise.Excess liquidity in the banking system increased from 5.4 billion rupees Friday to 26.3 billion rupees Monday, but the […]
Sri Lankan Treasuries yields fall
July 15, 2009 (LBO) – The 3-month Treasury bill yield fell 23 basis points to 11.05 percent at Wednesday’s auction, amid record excess liquidity in the banking system of 28 billion rupees. The government sold 2.5 billion rupees of 3-month bills, 3.1 billion rupees of 6-month bills and 4.8 billion rupees of 12-month bills. The […]
Sri Lanka anchor currency inflation -1.4-pct in June
July 15, 2009 (LBO) – Inflation of Sri Lanka’s anchor currency, the US dollar, measured by the all urban consumer (CPI-U) index fell 1.4 percent in June from a year earlier, the Bureau of Labour Statistics said. In the month of June, inflation of the Sri Lanka rupee measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index […]
Sri Lankan stocks close flat
July 14, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed flat Tuesday as the absence of high net worth individuals, and institutional and foreign investors kept trade volumes low, brokers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index closed up 0.01 percent (0.24 points) to end at 2,369.11, while the Milanka index of liquid stocks lost […]
Sri Lankan shares close up 0.24-pct
July 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed up Monday as retailers cautiously re-entered the market focusing on selected hotel and banking stocks, while institutional and high net-worth individual investors stayed away, brokers said. The All Share Price Index rose 0.24 percent (5.78 points) to end at 2,368.87 while the Milanka index of more […]
Sri Lanka policy rates unchanged in July: Central Bank
July 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s key reverse repo rate would be held at 11.00 percent while bank lending rates were moving steadily down in response to rate cuts, the Central Bank said in its July monetary policy review. Foreign hedge funds were putting money back into government securities. In May Sri Lanka’s military […]
Sri Lanka central bank warns of rising inflationary pressures
July 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank, which brought inflation down to 0.9 percent in June, warned of higher inflation raising the possibility that it may lag behind better performing dollar pegged peers in the region. Inflation fell to 0.9 percent in June, the lowest since February 2004, when consumer inflation in Sri […]
Sri Lanka regional economic disparities narrowing: Central Bank
July 13, 2009 (LBO) – Regional economic disparities in Sri Lanka declined further last year although the Western Province continued to dominate with 45.4 percent share in gross domestic product (GDP), the Central Bank said. Provinces with smaller GDP have grown faster but a few lag behind and need more support, it said in a […]