Category: Economy and Markets
Money printing Zimbabwe eases price controls after shortages
HARARE, Aug 22, 2007 (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s government has authorised retailers to raise the prices of basic goods in order to ease widespread shortages which followed the imposition of price cuts, state media reported Wednesday. Shops and businesses which were ordered to slash their prices two months as part of a controversial crackdown on so-called […]
Sri Lanka interbank rates touch 40%
August 21, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s interbank rates touched 40 percent in early trade Tuesday after the market ran out of liquidity amidst pressure on the currency, dealers said. However a fresh inflow of foreign capital can reduce pressure. The overnight call rate, where banks borrow from each other without collateral in the interbank […]
Sri Lanka central bank defends John Exter and itself against tide of criticism
August 21, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank law, devised by an international economist famed for his monetary prudence, has in-built safeguards to protect the economy unless it was abused, a top central banker said. Central Bank Deputy Governor W A Wijewardene defended the bank’s founder John Exter against a rising tide of criticism […]
Sri Lanka credit crunch drives rates up, foreign names sell bonds
August 21, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank eased access to its discount window with overnight rupee rates hitting 40 percent, while the spot dollar hit an intra-day high of 112.10 rupees Tuesday, dealers said. Interbank money markets are facing liquidity shortages stemming from an outflow of foreign exchange. The monetary authority has been […]
Sri Lankan rupee weakens further against dollar
August 20, 2007 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan state bank’s offers for spot dollar moved above 112 rupees Monday with the bank, which usually represents Central Bank transactions, offering at 112.04, dealers said. On Friday, inter-bank deals closed above 112 despite the official offer being at 111.97. Import demand is seen driving the local currency […]
Sri Lanka trade deficit narrows in first half 2007, oil imports down
August 16, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s trade deficit has narrowed 12 percent and oil imports had fallen 8 percent in the first half of 2007, the central bank said. Exports had grown 12.9 percent to 3.56 billion dollars while imports grew only 3.9 percent narrowing the trade deficit from 1.79 billion dollars to 1.58 […]
” as rupee tumbles
August 15, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s forex markets are defying fundamental economic principles with bids creeping above offer prices in what analysts see as the latest in a series of perversions that have hit financial markets in the country. Sri Lank is now floating a 500 million dollar international sovereign bond to ease pressure […]
Sri Lanka rolls over Rs12bn in bills, short end in demand
August 15, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka rolled over 12 billion rupees of treasury bills heavily weighted towards the short end with yields edging up marginally, the government’s debt office said.Three-month bills edged up four basis points to 17.45 percent while 6-months remained flat at 17.12 percent and 12-month bills were at 16.89 percent. The […]
Sri Lanka central bank pours oil on troubled forex markets
August 14, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank sought to calm the country’s forex markets in its August monetary policy statement as the rupee came under increasing pressure and inflation spiked up. The rupee hit a life low Monday moving down to 112.00 to the dollar, despite intervention from official quarters. The central bank […]
Sri Lankan businesses seek to penetrate booming Middle East markets
August 14, 2007 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan business delegation is to visit the Middle East next month seeking to penetrate the markets in three oil exporting countries whose economies are booming because of high petroleum prices. The visit, organised by the trade fair unit of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC), will cover Saudi […]
Economists slam the real culprits behind subprime debacle
FRANKFURT, Aug 14, 2007 (AFP) – By injecting billions into the money markets in the wake of fears about the US housing market, central banks are reaping what they have sown after years of low interest rates, analysts said Tuesday.IKB’s main shareholder, the German state-owned KfW bank, came to the rescue by providing an 8.1-billion-euro […]
Sri Lanka port firm plans bond issue
August 14, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-owned Ports Authority (SLPA) is planning an international bond issue to raise funds for new expansion projects and repay debt, its chairman Saliya Wickramasuriya said.“The inescapable fact at the moment, the most important thing to the port at the moment, is the ability of a bidder to ramp […]