” by S&P

Sept 14, 2010 (LBO) – Standard & Poor’s has raised its long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating on Sri Lanka to ‘B+’ from ‘B’ and the long-term local currency rating to ‘BB-‘ from ‘B+’ with a stable outlook, a statement said. At the same time, Standard & Poor’s confirmed the ‘B’ short-term rating on the […]

Cuba to axe one million state jobs

HAVANA, September 14, 2010 (AFP) – Cuba has announced plans to slash one million state jobs and encourage the growth of its emerging small business sector in a gamble it hopes can keep its communist system and floundering economy afloat. Workers laid off from government jobs will no longer be sent home with partial pay, […]

” to begin in October

Sept 14, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s statistics office has completed most of the preliminary work to conduct its first island-wide population count in 30-years with a ‘pilot census’ to begin in October, an official said. The census office started piling work a new building in Battaramulla, near Sri Lanka’s parliament Tuesday. The 62 year […]

Sri Lanka half-year budget deficit on track

Sept 14, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka budget deficit up to June 2010 is on track with projected numbers though deficit monetization in subsequent weeks points to greater net cash deficits, official data show. Tax revenues picked up 16.0 percent to 309 billion rupees in the first six months of the year from a year […]

Location Lure

Sept 13, 2010 (LBO) – Service providers in the trade hubs of Dubai and Singapore have shown interest in a new port in southern Sri Lanka where a request for proposals from businesses has been issued, an official said. “To attract volumes to Sri Lanka we must have capacity; otherwise we might not attract regional […]

Basle III

ZURICH, September 12, 2010 (AFP) – Banks will be required to lift their reserves substantially under “landmark” new rules drawn up Sunday by central bankers and regulators seeking to prevent a repeat of the recent financial crisis. The new regulations, called Basel III, would force banks to more than triple their current reserves and would […]

Sri Lanka tourist arrivals up 35-pct in August

Setp 13, 2010 (LBO) – Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka was up 35.7 percent to 55,898 in August led by Indians and Britons, with visitors during the first eight months up 46.7 percent from a year earlier, tourism office data showed. In the first eight months Western Europe generated 162,500 visitors up 50.4 percent, South […]

Hospital Expansion

Sept 13, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Asiri Hospitals group has acquired a firm with land in the central hill country capital of Kandy with approval to build a hospital, a stock exchange filing said. In April Asiri Hospital said it had bought a 40-bed hospital in the island’s southern Matara area for 160 million […]

India shares breach 19,000 points level

MUMBAI, September 13, 2010 (AFP) – India’s main stock market on Monday crossed the key 19,000 points marks to its highest level for more than two years, boosted by optimism about growth in Asia’s third largest economy, dealers said. The 30-share Sensex hit a day’s high of 19,095. 74 in morning trade, before retracing marginally […]

Klinger gatecrashes South African party to tame Lions

CENTURION, September 12, 2010 (AFP) – Michael Klinger gatecrashed a South African party at the Champions League Twenty20 tournament on Sunday and led South Australia Redbacks to a 11-run victory over Highveld Lions. Skipper Klinger and Callum Ferguson added 97 runs for the third wicket as the slow-starting Redbacks finished with a run flourish to […]

Sri Lanka 83rd in Forbes best countries for business list

Sept 13, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has been ranked 83rd in the latest Forbes Best Countries for Business list, behind India which was placed 77th but ahead of Pakistan at 92 and Bangladesh at 109. Denmark tops the list, followed by Hong Kong in second place, New Zealand in third, Canada in fourth and […]

Fifth interest rate hike expected as India battles inflation

NEW DELHI, September 12, 2010 (AFP) – India is expected to hike interest rates this week for a fifth time in six months after a surge in industrial output strengthened the case for another dose of monetary tightening, economists say. Although India has been the most aggressive in the Asia-Pacific region in raising rates to […]

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