Category: Other
Extradition Quest
May 26, 2007 (LBO) – The Philippine government has asked for arrested operators of the Questnet referral schemes in which tens of thousands of poor Asians and Africans have lost money, to be formally extradited, reports said. Earlier in May, the public face of the Quest International (QI) group, Vijayeswaran Vijayaratnam, director Joseph Luis Tomacruz […]
Brent hits nine-month high, New York light sweet low
NEW YORK, May 24, 2007 (AFP) – Crude oil prices closed mixed Thursday as the market focused on healthy stocks of crude in the United States and the contested nuclear program of oil producer Iran. New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, dropped 1.59 dollars to end at 64.18 […]
Sri Lanka tea industry mulls futures market
MAY 23, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea industry and the Securities and Exchange Commission are considering introducing a tea futures market as part of efforts to develop the island’s capital markets and provide an opportunity for tea producers to hedge risks.“It’s a bet on what tea prices will do ” so the producer can hedge his […]
Tax Loophole
May 22, 2007 (LBO) – The new company law gives companies a better chance to avoid paying tax on investment income, a corporate law expert said Tuesday. A company’s distribution of shares to shareholders may be treated as a dividend as it can distribute dividends only out of profit under Section 60 of the Companies […]
Bush seeking US citizen to succeed Wolfowitz
WASHINGTON, May 21, 2007 (AFP) – US President George W.Bush intends to nominate a US citizen to succeed Paul Wolfowitz as head of the World Bank, the White House said Monday. “We intend that the next World Bank president would be an American,” spokesman Tony Fratto said after Bush returned from a long weekend on […]
US to power up global interest in nuclear energy
WASHINGTON, May 21, 2007 (AFP) – The United States sought to boost nuclear power in the global energy mix Monday, by hosting China, France, Japan and Russia at the first meeting of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership.There are 100 nuclear power plants in operation across America producing about 20 percent of US power. President George […]
At Last
May 21, 2007 (LBO) – Copies of Sri Lanka’s new Companies Act can now be downloaded from the Web and are available at the government publications bureau. A spokesman for the Registrar of Companies Department said the Companies Act No 7 of 2007, which came into affect on May 03, can be downloaded from their […]
Oil exporting Iran prints enough money to drive inflation to 17%
TEHRAN, May 20, 2007 (AFP) – Iran’s inflation is set to rise to 17 percent this year with money supply growth continuing to soar, the central bank said on Sunday.A rate of 17 percent inflation in the Iranian year to March 20 would mark a 3.5 percentage point rise from the year earlier, amid rising […]
Kuwait cuts loose from sinking dollar
KUWAIT CITY, May 20, 2007 (AFP) – Kuwait on Sunday pegged its dinar to a basket of international currencies after more than four years of linking the local currency to the dollar, in a bid to reduce inflationary pressures.The oil-rich emirate had historically pegged the dinar to a basket of currencies before pegging it to […]
China makes equity investments from forex reserves
BEIJING, May 21, 2007 (AFP) – A new Chinese investment company charged with handling the nation’s bulging reserves has agreed to invest three billion dollars in US private equity company Blackstone, the American company said.Analysts have suggested that the new agency would start slowly while it refines its daily operations and so as not to […]
Oil-rich Iran to ration petrol to get out of subsidy fiasco
TEHRAN, May 21, 2007 (AFP) – Oil-rich Iran is to delay a plan, scheduled to be implemented on Wednesday, to ration petrol and raise pump prices that is expected to have a profound impact on its economy, officials said.Iran has been unable to distribute sufficient rationing cards in time to consumers to execute the plan, […]
G11 admits two great sins; promise “fiscal prudence and sound monetary policies” in future
SHUNEH, Jordan, May 19, 2007 (AFP) – G11 developing countries agreed at a summit Saturday on a framework to push for cooperation with G8 industrialised nations to ease their debts and build prosperous economies.“Our two organisations have a vital shared goal, to strengthen prosperity and peace in the 21st century,” Jordan’s King Abdullah II told […]