Category: Economy and Markets
Fed cut rates to near zero; desperate efforts to bring inflation back
WASHINGTON, December 17, 2008 (AFP) – The Federal Reserve used up its ammunition on monetary policy Tuesday by slashing its base lending rate to virtually zero but pledged further efforts to stimulate credit and revive a moribund economy.The actions by Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues put the central bank on track toward the […]
Sri Lanka growth expected to slow in last quarter
Dec 17, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economic expansion is likely to slow in the last quarter as an external slowdown hits demand for its products, resulting in year-end growth of around 6.0 percent, officials said. In the third quarter the economy expanded by 6.3 percent, the government’s statistics office said, helped by high agricultural […]
Sri Lanka shares barely changed
Dec 17, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares were barely changed Wednesday, with the indices marginally firmer and almost half the trading volumes coming from transactions in parcels of John Keells Holdings, brokers said.Meanwhile, Hotel Services, owners of the Ceylon Continental Hotel said in a stock exchange filing that the major shareholders were willing to […]
Sri Lanka rupee edges lower amid collapsing oil bill
Dec 16, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka rupee eased towards 111.90/112.05 against the US dollar, dealers said, with the central bank showing signs of easing off on an ill-fated sterilized intervention campaign that cost the country a third of its foreign reserves. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ […]
Sri Lanka share trading pumped up by JKH, Distilleries
Dec 16, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan share trading picked up Tuesday with sizeable transactions in conglomerates John Keells Holdings and Distilleries pumping up volumes, although the indices still ended marginally lower, brokers said. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 The All Share Price Index […]
Sri Lanka economy expands 6.3 pct in third quarter: statistics office
Dec 16, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economy expanded 6.3 percent in the third quarter of 2008 over the same quarter the previous year, and against 7.0 in the second quarter of this year, the governments statistics office said. Services grew by 5.5 percent, industry 5.6 percent and agriculture by 12.4 percent, statistics director Suranjana […]
Sri Lanka central bank disputes S&P credit downgrade
Dec 15, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has disputed a sovereign credit downgrade by Standard & Poors to ‘B’ from ‘B+’ saying it done without “proper assessment”. The Central Bank also said some comments in a media statement issued by the rating agency were “factually incorrect, logically untenable and grossly misleading.” The central […]
Sri Lanka rupee trades without intervention
Dec 15, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka rupee traded around 111.45/55 levels after dipping lower to 111.50/60 Monday, while overnight rates edged lower on excess liquidity, dealers said. The rupee closed at 111.30/45 levels Thursday with no intervention and there was no intervention in early trading Monday, dealers said. Overnight call rate rates dropped […]
Sri Lanka shares slide on low volumes
Dec 15, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares fell 2.17 percent Monday with a single transaction in Chevron Lubricants Lanka accounting for almost half the meagre trading volume of 55 million rupees, brokers said. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 The All Share Price Index […]
Sri Lanka rupee pressured as IMF praises Hong Kong currency board
Dec 15, 2008 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund has praised the robust ‘hard peg’ (currency board) of Hong Kong with the US dollar even as Sri Lanka rupee’s ‘soft peg’ is under severe pressure from central bank liquidity injections. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has maintained a fixed exchange rate system or currency […]
Sri Lanka sovereign rating downgraded by S&P to B
Dec 15, 2008 (LBO) – Rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) said it has downgraded Sri Lanka’s long term foreign currency sovereign credit rating to B from B+ with a stable outlook due to its deteriorating external liquidity position. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 […]
Sri Lanka prints money to buy tea in Zimbabwe-style move
Dec 14, 2008 (LBO) – State-run Sri Lanka Tea Board has spent over 200 million rupees to buy tea, using printed money from the Central Bank, in a Zimbabwe-style inflationary quasi-fiscal move, the latest information reveals. Tea Board chairman Lalith Hettiarachchi said last week that it had bought almost a million kilograms of tea worth […]