Category:
India launches sharia stock index for Muslims
MUMBAI, December 27, 2010 (AFP) – India’s Bombay Stock Exchange launched a share index of sharia-compliant companies on Monday in an attempt to open stock-trading to more Muslims. The BSE TASIS Sharia 50 consists of the largest and most liquid sharia-compliant stocks within the BSE 500 index. All the companies have been vetted to ensure […]
‘s city-dwellers get angrier as society changes
MUMBAI, December 26, 2010 (AFP) – With its religious retreats for meditation and yoga, India has long been sought out by Western visitors eager to escape the rat race and return home better prepared to face life’s challenges. Big cities like New Delhi and Mumbai, however, are becoming anything but havens of spiritual calm and […]
‘s cheapest car
NEW DELHI, December 26, 2010 (AFP) – India’s launch of the world’s cheapest car, the Nano, was expected to create a vast new market segment in the nation of 1.2 billion people, but reality has fallen short of expectations. “The really good thing for Tata is that those people who have the car are happy […]
‘ warm words
NEW DELHI, December 26, 2010 (AFP) – The theme of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to India was “friends not rivals,” but a border dispute remains a source of tension and, analysts warn, potential conflict between the Asian giants. The joint communique that concluded Wen’s recent visit barely mentioned the long-standing border issue, as both […]
Sri Lanka naval meet seen strengthening Indian Ocean maritime security
Dec 25, 2010 (LBO) – A naval symposium to mark the Sri Lankan navy’s 60th anniversary has helped improve maritime security co-operation among navies to combat smuggling and poaching in the Indian Ocean, an official said. Samarasinghe said intelligence sharing among intelligence agencies and regional navies had also improved. Sri Lanka navy chief Vice Admiral […]
Sri Lanka shares end up 0.72-pct
Dec 24, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed higher Friday with private deals in two conglomerates boosting turnover, ending a week of gains that also saw net foreign selling, brokers said. Bartleet Mallory Stockbrokers said there was a mix of institutional, high-net-worth and retail investors at the start of the week, but retail investors […]
Bank Issue
Dec 24, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Union Bank plans to make a public share offer after a rights issue of 10 million shares at 25 rupees each to existing shareholders was oversubscribed by four times, a statement said. The bank has 20 branches including 05 in the north of Sri Lanka and is expected […]
Stock Allocation
Dec 24, 2010 (LBO) – Small investors who applied for up to 500 shares in a share issue by Sri Lanka’s Singer Finance (Lanka) will get all they asked for, issue manager NDB Investment Bank said in a stock exchange filing. The funds raised via the IPO will be used by the company to expand […]
Missing Syndrome
GENEVA, December 23, 2010 (AFP) – An international accord aimed at preventing abductions — a fate affecting tens of thousands of people throughout the world — came into force Thursday, the United Nations said. “In Latin America, where a number of countries are parties to the convention, thousands of families still await information on the […]
Onions, coconuts and the politics of taste in S.Asia
NEW DELHI, December 24, 2010 (AFP) – Food and politics have always been closely intertwined in the developing countries of South Asia, but when national taste buds are at stake the relationship can become especially volatile. A shortage of onions in India, a dearth of coconuts in Sri Lanka and the soaring price of cooking […]
Sri Lanka formula racing tracks mulled by FIA
Dec 24, 2010 (LBO) – The Federation International de Automobile (FIA), the governing body of world motor sport, is considering setting up two international formula racing tracks in Sri Lanka, the government said. A statement from President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s office said Jean Todt, the president of the International Automobile Federation, had explored the possibility of […]
Sri Lanka universities live up to their billing: Reject PhDs and hire non-PhDs
Dec 24, 2010 (LBO) – In a recent column on the failure of Sri Lankan universities, I said that: Faculty select their successors.Poor-quality faculty will select more poor-quality academics. Because they want to be the big dogs in the pound they admit only weaker animals. The big dogs retire, and the weaklings replace them. They apply the […]