Category: Economy and Markets
IMF suggests Latvia should break soft-peg with euro: finance minister
RIGA, December 4, 2008 (AFP) – The IMF has suggested that Latvia drop the peg linking its national currency with the euro to help solve the country’s deepening economic woes, Finance Minister Atis Slakteris said Thursday, adding that his government disagrees. “There is a group of experts of the International Monetary Fund that thinks that […]
‘s politicians play petroleum politics
Dec 05, 2008 (LBO) – Despite printing money to subsidize oil and driving inflation sky high, speculating in oil derivatives to keep prices down and getting the entire nation into trouble, Sri Lanka’s politics of petroleum deception is still riding high.When inflation is high the ‘burden’ of government is borne more by the poor and […]
Sri Lanka central bank defends itself from hedging fire
Nov 05, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank, under fire for advising a state-run petroleum firm to hedge oil imports using derivatives in the belief that it helped the balance of payments, has issued a statement defending its actions. The full statement is reproduced below: Hedging : A Clarification re. the Central Bank’s Role […]
Sri Lanka share trading slumps to six-year low
Dec 04, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares sagged further Thursday as trading volumes slumped to a six-year low of 13 million rupees with high interest rates and uncertainty over future company earnings keeping investors away, brokers said. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 The […]
Sri Lanka headline index falls below core inflation
Dec 04, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s controversial ‘core’ inflation index, which the Central Bank says it uses for monetary policy decisions, was at 18.1 percent in November, overtaking the so-called ‘headline’ figure which is at 16.3 percent, the latest data shows.The Central Bank said the headline Colombo Consumers’ Price Index (CCPI) fell 16.3 percent […]
Sri Lanka Seylan Bank to sell 5-year debentures
Dec 03, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank is seeking at least 400 million rupees through a 5-year debenture issue that offers annual interest rates as high as 21.5 percent with an option to raise a further 600 million rupees. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send […]
US in recession since December 2007: official panel
WASHINGTON, December 2, 2008 (AFP) – A US recession began in December 2007, a panel of economists charged with the official designation of business cycles said Monday.But the gross domestic product (GDP) data may have been skewed by tax rebates that stimulated consumer spending, according to analysts. The NBER said “we do not identify economic […]
Sri Lanka monsoon floods affect 370,000: UN
GENEVA, December 2, 2008 (AFP) – Monsoon floods in the north of Sri Lanka have affected more than 370,000 people, with 71,000 being displaced, the United Nations said Tuesday.Tamil Tiger guerrillas, who began their struggle for a separate Tamil homeland in 1972, are currently facing the Sri Lankan army’s biggest ever offensive in the north.“The […]
Sri Lanka shares weaken, trading slumps to 4-year low
Dec 02, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares weakened Tuesday with trading drying up and turnover slumping to a low of 33 million rupees, the lowest for four years, dealers said.Sri Lankan shares have been on a long slide owing to a slowing economy and poor company earnings amidst high inflation and interest rates. On […]
Sri Lanka shares resume slide, Ceylinco Insurance boosts trading volumes
Dec 01, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares resumed their downward march Monday after two days of marginal gains last week, with a large transaction in Ceylinco Insurance propping up trading volumes, brokers said.Corporate earnings in the last quarter are down while the crash in commodity prices and high inflation and interest rates are seen […]
Sri Lanka EPF under fire at 50 years, calls for independent management
Nov 30, 2008 (LBO) – Calls for independent management for Sri Lanka’s state-managed Employees Provident Fund are gaining more support, with less than half of respondents to a survey saying returns were “reasonable”, an influential weekly has said.Fifty years after the creation of EPF The Sunday Times newspaper said only 45.95 percent of respondents to […]
Sri Lanka should stop intervention before it is too late: economist
Nov 29, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should stop a self-destructive sterilized intervention cycle of the national currency and move to stabilize the economy, to prevent an even more dramatic fall of the currency, an economist has said. Kamikaze Before mid-September when the central bank started a sterilized intervention cycle and started putting pressure on […]