Category: Other
Indian car maker Maruti sees quarterly profit jump 93 pct
NEW DELHI, October 24, 2009 (AFP) – India’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki reported Saturday that its quarterly net profit had soared 93 percent year-on-year, amid signs pointing to a reviving domestic economy. Maruti, majority owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp, reported net profit of 5.7 billion rupees (123 million dollars) in the second financial […]
‘s telecom minister denies corruption after raid
NEW DELHI, October 23, 2009 (AFP) – India’s telecom minister Friday denied any corruption in the awarding of new licences to telecom companies in the country last year after a raid by federal police on his ministry.India’s federal criminal investigation agency raided the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Thursday on suspicion that mobile phone network […]
Indians go on gold-buying blitz: industry body
MUMBAI, October 23, 2009 (AFP) – Indians spent nearly 2.0 billion dollars buying gold last week during Hindu festivities, an increase compared with 2008 despite record prices, the World Gold Council said on Friday. The World Gold Council (WGC) said gold sales rose 5.7 percent to 56 tonnes from a year earlier in the week […]
” with EU-style bloc
HUA HIN, October 24, 2009 (AFP) – Asian leaders discussed plans at a summit Saturday to “lead the world” by forming an EU-style community, as regional giants China and India tried to cool a simmering border spat.Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama pressed his regional counterparts to move towards the creation of an East Asian bloc […]
Charity Front
WASHINGTON, October 22, 2009 (AFP) – About 30 victims of attacks by Sri Lanka’s rebel Tamil Tigers filed a suit Thursday against the billionaire head of a US hedge fund facing insider trading charges. The suit alleges that Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam and a family foundation led by his father gave more than five […]
Sri Lanka milk farmers get marketing support
Oct 23, 2009 (LBO) – The US Agency for International Development (USAID) said it has partnered with a unit of the listed Chemical Industries (Colombo) (CIC) to help milk farmers take their product to market and increase incomes. The agency said in a statement it has established a dairy farmer network in Punani, in the […]
”s cheapest car
NEW DELHI, October 22, 2009 (AFP) – The world’s cheapest car, the Nano, launched by Indian maker Tata earlier this year, faces possible checks after owners complained of fires apparently caused by short circuits.But Tata Motors said it would not order a recall of the Nano, at least 7,500 of which have been delivered since […]
Australia set for decades-long mining boom: top official
SYDNEY, October 22, 2009 (AFP) – Australia could be set for a decades-long commodities boom fuelled by rocketing demand from China and India, a senior official said in the country’s latest upbeat economic assessment. Treasury secretary Ken Henry also said a return to full employment was a “conceivable possibility” in the coming years, with major […]
Sri Lanka tea output down in September
Oct 22, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s production of black tea in September 2009 fell three percent to 25.5 million kilos from a year ago, according to the Sri Lanka Tea Board’s statistics. The deficit of 42 million kilos makes up for the bulk of the global tea production shortfall that has driven up prices […]
‘s economy seen growing 6.5 pct this year: panel
NEW DELHI, October 21, 2009 (AFP) – India’s economy has withstood the global financial crisis well and should grow by 6.5 percent this fiscal year, a top government panel forecast Wednesday. The panel, which advises India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on economic policy, put the estimated growth range for the country between 6.25 percent and […]
Court Action
Oct 20, 2009 (LBO) – The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said one of the accused in its case against senior executives of Singalanka Standard Chemicals charged with falsifying accounts and forging auditors’ signatures has pleaded guilty. The SEC said the court re-issued summons against the first accused, the former chairman of Singalanka Standard Chemicals, […]
Chinese ship seized as Somali piracy drifts East
NAIROBI, October 19, 2009 (AFP) – Somali pirates hijacked a Chinese bulk carrier Monday northeast of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, as the marauding sea bandits hunted their prey ever further from base to wrong-foot naval patrols.According to the European Union’s anti-piracy naval mission (EU NAVFOR), the unnamed ship was seized 550 nautical miles […]