Category: Other
Maldivians clear path for a woman on top, but will there be footprints?
Feb 06, 2008 (LBO) – Maldives have cleared the bar to elect a woman president, but the glass ceiling is unlikely to shatter soon as the incumbent strongman wants to rule on into a fourth decade, analysts said. Though the 50-member majlis, a representative body, has cleared the way Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, 70, has already […]
Australia hikes rates to 7.00-pct, a 12-year-high
SYDNEY, Feb 5, 2008 (AFP) – Australia’s central bank Tuesday lifted its key interest rates 25 basis points to 7.00 percent from 6.75 percent — a 12 year high — as it struggles to fight inflationary pressures.Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor Glenn Stevens said recent information pointed to “significant inflation pressures”. “CPI (Consumer Price […]
Red Flag
Feb 05, 2008 (LBO) – Journalists unions and associations from across the Asia-Pacific region have asked Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse to protect the safety of journalists on the island and uphold media freedom. Asia-Pacific affiliates and partners of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said in a statement after meeting in Kuala Lumpur that […]
Chinese named World Bank chief economist
WASHINGTON, Feb 4, 2008 (AFP) – The World Bank named Monday Justin Lin Yifu, who defected from Taiwan to China and rose to become a top economic strategist for the communist country, as its chief economist, the first time a Chinese has held the job.World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Lin, the founding director of […]
G7 to meet amid fading hopes of joint action on economy
TOKYO, Feb 5, 2008 (AFP) – Slumping global stock markets and fears of a US recession are set to dominate a weekend meeting here of the world’s top finance chiefs, but analysts see little chance of any coordinated action. Although the fallout from the US subprime loan woes is spreading around the world, with the […]
Google concerned over Microsoft bid for Yahoo
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 3, 2008 (AFP) – Internet giant Google said Sunday it finds “troubling” Microsoft’s multi-billion-dollar bid to acquire rival Yahoo and urged US and international regulators to strenuously vet the proposed deal. “Microsoft’s hostile bid for Yahoo raises troubling questions,” read a statement by David Drummond, Google’s senior vice president for corporate development […]
Kenya killings overshadow peace hopes
NAIROBI, Feb 2, 2008 (AFP) – Dozens died in clashes in western Kenya, police said Saturday, shattering hopes for an accord by political rivals to make efforts to end weeks of violence.Police reported at least 47 new deaths while more accusations flew between President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga, who claims he was […]
ECB expected to stand firm on rates, despite concerns
FRANKFURT, Feb 3, 2008 (AFP) – Faced with record inflation, the European Central Bank is expected to resist pressure for an interest rate cut when its governing council meets this week, in the wake of moves by the US Federal Reserve.They could come as soon as the second quarter of this year, some say.Despite a […]
Singapore to buy Westin Hotel Tokyo from Morgan Stanley
TOKYO, Feb 3, 2008 (AFP) – The Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) has agreed to buy the Westin Tokyo luxury hotel for 77 billion yen (723 million dollars) from Morgan Stanley, a newspaper said Sunday.Morgan Stanley purchased the Westin Tokyo for about 50 billion yen from Japanese brewer Sapporo Holdings Ltd in 2004. The […]
Dirty Finance
Feb 02, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has tied up with Malaysia’s central bank to combat cross-border money laundering and terrorist finance, the Central Bank said. “Sri Lankan authorities should ensure that the FIU should be given operational independence to ensure freedom from undue influence or interference,” the IMF said. The […]
Electronic Crime
Feb 01, 2008 (LBO) – Canadian police are probing links with Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers in a bank payment card fraud involving suspects of Sri Lankan origin, a media report said. Canadian police had stopped a car that ran a stop sign and arrested two Canadian and two British residents of Sri Lankan origin with […]
OPEC to keep oil output steady; Venezuela wants higher prices
VIENNA, Jan 31, 2008 (AFP) – OPEC ministers turned down calls for extra output on Thursday, voicing concern that the weak US economy may cause oil prices to drop further from recent historic peaks above 100 dollars. Most members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which pumps 40 percent of world oil, said the […]