Category: Other
LawAsiaICT2008
Jan 22, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka and other Asia-Pacific nations must work out common procedures to apply laws so that electronic crimes do not proliferate, the island’s top judicial officer said.“This is something that other jurisdictions can emulate,” he said. “In Malaysia we have ‘cyber city’ to get everybody together to have technology development […]
EU warns of US recession as stocks dive
BRUSSELS, Jan 21, 2008 (AFP) – Top European finance officials sounded the alarm on Monday about a possible US recession as fears about the health of the world’s biggest economy plunged global stocks deep into the red. “The situation is continuing to deteriorate in the United States,” Luxembourg Finance Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said after chairing […]
Saudi shares nosedive almost 10 percent
RIYADH, Jan 22, 2008 (AFP) – The Saudi stock market, by far the largest in the Arab world, dropped sharply at the end of trading Tuesday, shedding almost the maximum permissible 10 percent on economic concerns and profit-taking.The Tadawul All-Shares Index shed 9.7 percent to finish below the 10,000-point psychological barrier on 9,338.54 points. The […]
Governments urge calm in face of market turmoil
PARIS, Jan 22, 2008 (AFP) – Leaders in Asia and Europe appealed for calm Tuesday and called for international cooperation in the face of a galloping global meltdown on world stock markets sparked by fears of a US recession. Asian markets experienced a day of heavy losses, with Hong Kong share prices suffering their biggest […]
Europe tell US to tackle the real causes of market turmoil
BRUSSELS, Jan 22, 2008 (AFP) – The European Commission’s top economic official, Joaquin Almunia, called Tuesday on the United States to tackle its deficits, which he said were the root cause of financial market turmoil. Amid concern in Europe that a US government recovery plan would not avert a recession, EU Economic and Monetary Affairs […]
Fed slashes US interest rates to 3.50 percent
WASHINGTON, Jan 22, 2008 (AFP) – The US Federal Reserve slashed its key federal funds short-term interest rate by three quarters of a percentage point to 3.50 percent Tuesday amid sharp falls on global stock markets. The Fed announced its move shortly before US stock markets were due to open for trading and amid increasing […]
World shares tumble as Bush plan disappoints
LONDON, Jan 21, 2008 (AFP) – Global stock markets plunged on Monday as US President George W.Bush’s tax plan to revive the world’s largest economy disappointed investors. “Investor scepticism over the impact of a temporary tax cut in saving the US economy from a sharp slowdown in economic growth prompted heavy selling” in equities, said […]
Sri Lanka desiccated coconut exports restrained by nut shortfall
Jan 21, 2008 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s exports of desiccated coconut (DC) were far below the island’s potential last year due to insufficient coconuts to keep mills running, exporters said.Sunil Watawala, former president of the DC Millers Association, said DC is the island’s main kernel product that is competitive in international markets as local coconut […]
‘s three-wheelers driven off the road
LONDON, Jan 19, 2008 (AFP) – Britain’s first fleet of tuk-tuks have been run off the roads by “archaic legislation”, the owner said Saturday.The colourful fleet of 12 three-wheeled motorised rickshaws, called tuk-tuks after the sound of the engine, have been patrolling the seafront at Brighton, southern England, since July 2006. But Dominic Ponniah of […]
India software giants wary of US slowdown
BANGALORE, India, Jan 20, 2008 (AFP) – India’s major software firms say a US economic slowdown may bring more customers seeking cost savings, but analysts warn that the once red-hot sector faces tough times in 2008. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys Technologies and Wipro, whose latest earnings were hit by a sharp gain in the […]
Carbon Disclosure Project to assess world business CO2 footprint
WASHINGTON, Jan 20, 2008 (AFP) – The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a consortium of 315 top institutional investors assessing industries about their CO2 emissions, announced Sunday a new partnership to extend its global initiative to companies and suppliers. With members including Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Allianz and HSBC that manage assets of more than 41 […]
Criminal Risk
Jan 19, 2007 (LBO) – The legality of Sri Lanka’s casinos is uncertain and the lack of supervision could opened them to be controlled by criminals, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said. “Illegal profits are co-mingled with legitimate income in the placement and layering stages of money laundering.” The lack of regulation also made […]