Category: Trade

MUMBAI, October 25, 2008 (AFP) – Jet Airways, India’s biggest domestic airline, reported Saturday a second-quarter net loss from a profit in the same period a year earlier, hit by rising fuel costs and fewer passengers.The airline posted a net loss of 3.84 billion rupees (80 million dollars) after announcing a profit of 283.6 million […]

BEIJING, October 25, 2008 (AFP) – World leaders vowed Saturday to overhaul the global financial system in the face of recession fears, but US President George W.Bush urged nations to “recommit” to free markets despite economic turmoil. After a week of growing economic gloom and plunging stock markets, Asian and European leaders meeting in Beijing […]

TOKYO, October 24, 2008 (AFP) – The US dollar tumbled to a 13-year low against the yen in Asian trade on Friday as investors sought refuge amid rising fears of a global recession, dealers said. The euro fared little better, hitting the lowest level in about six years against the yen on expectations that European […]

MUMBAI, October 24, 2008 (AFP) – India’s central bank kept its key interest rates steady on Friday but declared it was ready to take “unconventional and swift” measures to deal with the global financial crisis.“This (crisis) is unchartered territory with no standard or conventional solutions,” Reserve Bank of India governor D. Subbarao said in his […]

VIENNA, October 24, 2008 (AFP) – OPEC President Chakib Khelil expressed confidence on Friday that the oil cartel’s members would stand by their commitments to cut output as decided at an emergency meeting here. “I’m very confident. I think they don’t have a choice,” Khelil told a news conference here. “What choice do they have? […]

NEW YORK, October 24, 2008 (AFP) – US shares plunged Friday amid a wave of panic selling and a meltdown in share prices around the world on rising fears of a global recession. NEW YORK, October 24, 2008 (AFP) – US shares plunged Friday amid a wave of panic selling and a meltdown in share […]

WASHINGTON, October 22, 2008 (AFP) – After errant bankers and humbled insurers, the turn came on Thursday for ratings agency bosses to receive a verbal lashing from US lawmakers investigating the financial system meltdown. The heads of leading agencies were accused by a House of Representatives committee of ignoring warnings signs, following the “delirious mob” […]

NEW YORK, October 22, 2008 (AFP) – Recession fears stalked trading floors around the world Wednesday, sparking major losses in Asia, Europe and on Wall Street as investors weighed prospects for a prolonged global downturn. The realization that a worldwide financial crisis is pummeling economies — and driving down growth, employment and corporate profits in […]

NEW DELHI, October 23, 2008 (AFP) – The Indian government refused Thursday to bail out ailing airlines facing mounting losses but said it would extend the credit period for the cash-starved carriers to pay their fuel bills.Indian airlines had sought a bailout package worth 47.50 billion rupees (one billion dollars) to survive in the face […]

Oct 23, 2008 (LBO) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC) have launched a trade finance scheme for developing countries the initial phase of which will be in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. An ADB statement said the bank and SMBC have entered a risk-sharing agreement that will enhance support […]

Oct 21, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s August 2008 export earnings went up 16.6 percent to 761 million dollars from a year ago, driven largely by the boom in agricultural exports, the central bank said Tuesday. Spending on investment goods were up 21.3 percent to 1,976 million dollars in the eight month period. The central […]

Oct 17, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s health ministry has banned the import and sale of 60 food products as a precautionary measure following the melamine Chinese milk contamination scandal.Many countries have pulled melamine-contaminated sweets and drinks from supermarket shelves amid the widening scandal over Chinese milk products tainted with the toxic chemical. Melamine, which […]