Category: Other
Fed extends emergency lending to investment firms
WASHINGTON, July 30, 2008 (AFP) – The Federal Reserve on Wednesday extended its emergency lending program to January 2009 for investment firms aimed at keeping credit flowing in the financial system.The Fed said it took the action “in light of continued fragile circumstances in financial markets” along with other steps to ease a global credit […]
” despite policy conflicts
July 30, 2008 (LBO) – A summit meeting of South Asian leaders this weekend is placing ‘food security’ high on its agenda with promises of more state intervention, officials said, despite recent state meddling that backfired on the region’s poor and farmers.Sri Lanka’s international trade minister G L Peiris told reporters that the time has […]
Sri Lanka tea prices hit by collection fears
July 30, 2008 (LBO) – Prices of Sri Lankan low grown leafy grade teas fell sharply at this week’s Colombo auctions owing to fears that buyers may not be able to collect their purchases.Tea prices have been buoyed by good demand from traditional buyers like Russia and the Middle East oil exporting countries where consumers […]
Japan foreign minister puts off South Asia trip
TOKYO, July 30, 2008 (AFP) – Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura has put off a visit to South Asia starting this weekend due to political uncertainties at home, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. Japan was arranging for Komura to visit India, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan from Friday until August 8, said a foreign ministry official, […]
Los Angeles passes ban on new fast-food outlets
LOS ANGELES, July 30, 2008 (AFP) – Los Angeles officials on Tuesday approved a one-year ban on fast-food chains opening in a poor neighborhood of the city battling higher-than-average obesity, officials said.The moratorium covers the 500,000 people living in the 32-square mile area of South Los Angeles, which is predominantly Hispanic and African-American. Designed to […]
Widespread lament over collapse of WTO talks
WASHINGTON, July 30, 2008 (AFP) – Government and business leaders lamented the failure to reach a global trade pact in Geneva on Tuesday, with a leading US business group blaming China and India for the collapse of the talks.Argentina however blamed wealthy nations for failing to provide enough concrete benefits for developing countries. The breakdown […]
Oil prices fall sharply as dollar strengthens
LONDON, July 29, 2008 (AFP) – Oil prices fell heavily on Tuesday as traders reacted to the stronger dollar, erasing earlier gains seen after energy giant Royal Dutch Shell suspended some of its crude deliveries from Nigeria. OPEC President Chakib Khelil described crude prices above 120 dollars a barrel as “abnormal,” adding that they could […]
Sri Lanka retail chains to charge customers for plastic bags
July 29, 2008 (LBO) – A group of Sri Lankan retail chains will start charging customers for shopping bags from August 01, as part of a campaign with the island’s environment protection office to cut plastic waste, a top retail chain said.Retail chains will also have cardboard boxes. Plastic bags which do not degrade early […]
WTO talks enter tense endgame: officials
GENEVA, July 28, 2008 (AFP) – Talks to forge a new global trade pact teetered on the brink of collapse Tuesday as the World Trade Organization said the mood was “very tense” and major powers blamed each other for the deadlock.“The situation is very tense, things are finely balanced and the outcome is by no […]
‘s central bank hikes policy rate to 9.0-pct
MUMBAI, July 29, 2008 (AFP) – India’s central bank Tuesday raised its key short-term lending rate by half-a-percentage point in an aggressive bid to tame inflation riding at a 13-year high, pushing shares down sharply. Indian shares slumped 3.6 percent after the bank announced the hike in the repo rate, at which commercial banks borrow […]
BP profits jump as oil prices smash record highs
LONDON, July 29, 2008 (AFP) – British energy giant BP said on Tuesday that its net profit rallied by 28 percent to 9.47 billion dollars (6.02 billion euros) in the second quarter as oil prices surged to record highs. BP’s revenue soared by 49 percent to 111 billion dollars in the three months to June […]
Malaysia to tries to reflate bursting palm oil bubble: report
KUALA LUMPUR, July 27, 2008 (AFP) – Malaysia will put in place a series of measures to stabilise plummeting global palm oil prices including selling off crude stocks, a report said Sunday.Peter Chin, minister of plantation industries and commodities, told the Sunday Star newspaper the government wanted to make sure that the almost 25-percent drop […]