Category: Other
World Bank pledges record US$3.5 bn new to aid poor nations
WASHINGTON, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) – The World Bank on Thursday pledged a record 3.5 billion dollars to aid the world’s poorest countries as it cut the interest rate on loans to big developing countries. The roughly quarter-point lowering of loan rates was a concession by the World Bank as it stepped up efforts to […]
Sri Lanka sinks three boats, kills a dozen rebels
Sept 28, 2007 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan navy destroyed three Tamil Tiger boats off the island’s northeast coast, killing over a dozen rebels, the defence ministry said Friday.The clashes took place late Thursday when a naval patrol sighted 20 boats off Pulmoddai, near the de facto state the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’s (LTTE), […]
Gold price soars to new 27-year high after as Fed prints more money
LONDON, Sept 28, 2007 (AFP) – The price of gold surged Friday to the highest level since January 1980 as the precious metal was boosted by the sliding US dollar.On the London Bullion Market, gold prices leapt as high as 739.90 dollars per ounce. Analysts said that gold is winning support from the weak US […]
Microsoft livens up Live Search to battle Google and Yahoo
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) – Microsoft on Thursday began phasing in a slick new version of its Live Search service in a bid to gain ground on leading Internet search rivals Google and Yahoo. Microsoft’s improved Live Search will be available throughout the United States in a week and globally by the […]
Euro hits record high 1.4166 dollars
LONDON, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) – The euro set another record high against the dollar on Thursday as dealers waited nervously for the latest round of data on the United States economy. The European single currency hit 1.4166 dollars, beating its previous record of 1.4162 that was set on Wednesday. Dealers said the foreign exchange […]
Auditors PWC loses tax appeal in Russia
MOSCOW, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) – The Russian subsidiary of Pricewaterhouse Coopers, an international accounting firm, lost an appeal on Wednesday against a back tax bill of 10.4 million dollars (7.4 million euros). In a separate case earlier this year, PWC was found guilty and ordered to pay a fine for helping Yukos to avoid […]
Sad Ending
Sept 27, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s new company law has made it easier to start new ventures but winding up procedures are still cumbersome, a new World Bank study has said. In countries where bankruptcy is inefficient, unviable businesses linger for years, keeping assets and human capital from being reallocated to more productive uses, […]
Bottom End
Sept 26, 2007 (AFP) – High taxes and red tape are eroding confidence in Sri Lanka, one of the worst places to do business in South Asia, a study by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) showed Wednesday. The research which ranked 178 countries around the world on trade, taxation, business start-up costs, labour laws and […]
Corrupt Rank
Sept 26, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has slipped ten places in a global ranking of public sector corruption, the latest study by anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International shows. . The island was placed the 94th least transparent country among 180 nations in 2007, down from 84th place a year earlier in a corruption perceptions index […]
Maldives goes for a sovereign rating
September 25, 2007 (LBO) — The Indian Ocean Island of Maldives hopes to use its upcoming sovereign rating to help local firms raise cash in international markets, the atoll’s finance minister said. A sovereign or country rating serves as an indication of a nation’s ability to repay its debt and is a key requirement to […]
Myanmar junta warns against more protests
YANGON, Sept 25, 2007 (AFP) – Myanmar’s military regime warned its people Tuesday not to join a swelling nationwide protest movement that has escalated into the most potent threat to their hardline rule in nearly 20 years. Local government officials using loudspeakers rode trucks through central Yangon warning against new anti-junta protests, a day after […]
World Bank eyes more easy credit for developing nations: report
WASHINGTON, Sept 25, 2007 (AFP) – For the first time in almost a decade the World Bank is set to make meaningful cuts in the interest rates it charges China, Brazil, Mexico and other big developing countries, The Wall Street Journal Europe reports Tuesday. Under a deal to increase assistance to poor nations, unnamed bank […]