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Sri Lanka blocks US rapper Akon: official
March 23, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka Tuesday said it had refused US rap star Akon entry to the island following protests that a music video he produced was offensive to Buddhists. He said Colombo decided to stop the Grammy Award-nominated star’s concert planned for April 24 despite hopes from the official Tourism Promotion Bureau […]
Sri Lanka businesses told: be prepared, watch warning signs
Mar 24, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan businesses should be prepared for economic downturns and watch for warning signs from other economies to avoid being hurt during crises, Central Bank governor Nivard Cabraal said. “The first lesson is, strengthen yourself in good times,” he said, recalling how the central bank prepared to face the global […]
Sri Lankan stocks close 0.33-pct down
Mar 23, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed down Tuesday as retail investors continued to stay on the sidelines, while private deal on John Keells Holdings (JKH) pushed turnover past a billion rupees, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 3,730. 67, down 12.33 points, while the Milanka index of more liquid […]
Sri Lanka tea output back to normal levels in February
Mar 23, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea production in February was back to the usual levels having recovered from the effects of drought and a market crash last year, Tea Board statistics showed. A total of 23.5 million kilos of tea, including green tea, was produced in February 2010, up sharply from the 12. […]
Workforce Skills
Mar 23, 2010 (LBO) – The United States has given 750 scholarships to youth in Sri Lanka’s former war zone in the north and east to help them find jobs, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) said. It said in a statement it recently awarded 500 scholarships in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to […]
India launches ultra-luxury Maharaja train service
KOLKATA, March 23, 2010 (AFP) – India has launched its most luxurious and expensive train service yet, seeking to attract well-heeled foreign rail enthusiasts prepared to pay the minimum 800-dollars-a-night price tag. For most visitors, rail travel in India is an indispensable part of any holiday, although an ability to overlook the often filthy toilets […]
WTO negotiators say scant progress made in trade talks
GENEVA, March 22, 2010 (AFP) – Scant progress has been made in talks for a global trade pact, top negotiators told World Trade Organisation member states Monday, dampening hopes of a deal in the Doha Round soon. The round of negotiations for a trade liberalisation deal are primarily aimed at removing obstacles to trade for […]
‘s main opposition touts new policies
Mar 23, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s right wing United National Party (UNP) promises socialist style intervention to fix economic problems by clamping down on errant banks, increasing state-sector pensions and wages and threatening to cancel foreign commercial loans. Troubled assets of the Sri Lanka’s banking system will be absorbed into the state by a […]
Sri Lanka invites investors for township development
Mar 23, 2010 (LBO) – Development of townships around Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo offers investors a range of investment opportunities to build infrastructure and supply services, a senior official said. The Greater Colombo township development, known as the ‘3K’ project from the three towns covered – Kottawa, Kaduwela and Kadawatha – is connected with construction […]
Sri Lanka loosened monetary policy without damage: IMF
HANOI, Mar 23, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka was among the countries that ran counter-cyclical monetary policy in 2009 without damaging fallouts but low income Asian nations have to invest more, International Monetary Fund officials said. Sri Lanka is estimated to have grown by about 3. 5 percent in 2009 recovering from a slump from […]
Sri Lankan stocks becalmed
Mar 22, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed barely changed Monday and trading was lower than that of recent days as retail investors bought into conglomerate John Keells Holdings (JKH) and selected midcap stocks, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 3,743.00, 0.05 percent or 1.92 points down, while the Milanka index […]
Smart Banking
Mar 22, 2010 (LBO) – Banks can reduce credit risks by segmenting present and future customers into different credit risk pools using information technology, a senior official from International Business Machine (IBM) Corporation said. “We believe that there are three imperatives that are going to force financial institutions to think and act in fundamentally new […]