‘s Murali puts Bangladesh in trouble

DHAKA, December 30, 2008 (AFP) – Muttiah Muralitharan grabbed two quick wickets to push Sri Lanka closer to a big victory over Bangladesh on the fourth day of the opening Test here on Tuesday.The off-spinner dismissed Junaid Siddique and Raqibul Hasan in his four overs as Bangladesh struggled to reach 150-4 in their second innings […]

Sri Lanka dominates Bangladesh in first Test

DHAKA, December 30, 2008 (AFP) – Bangladesh were struggling at 40-1 in their second innings at lunch on the fourth day Tuesday, chasing an unlikely target of 521 runs to win the opening Test against Sri Lanka. Tamim Iqbal was unbeaten on 24 at the break while Imrul Kayes was run out for 13 after […]

” to maintain growth

Dec 30, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has announced a ‘stimulus package’ valued at 16 billion rupees to maintain growth at an optimistic 6.0 to 6.5 percent in 2009, with cuts in energy prices and incentives for exporters. “We have been able to maintain a growth rate of 6.0 percent or above in the past […]

Sri Lanka gives incentives to tea, rubber sectors

Dec 30, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government has moved to protect and revive the tea and rubber industries with a host of incentives announced in a wide-ranging economic stimulus package. These measures meet long-standing demand of tea cultivators, especially small farmers, and factory owners. The government will also set up a state trading institution […]

State workers to take less pay to save country

SAIPAN, December 29, 2008 (AFP) – The Northern Mariana Islands, faced with an escalating economic crisis, needs a four-day working week to cut costs, Governor Benigno Fitial said Monday. Fitial, who rejected a proposed budget bill that contained pay increases for department heads, said cost-cutting measures were “critical.” The department of finance said the Northern […]

Sri Lanka government statisticians defend numbers

Dec 29, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s statistics office has defended their numbers from a growing tide of skepticism amid further revelations about the involvement of the island’s policymakers in manipulating the country’s price index. The skepticism about Sri Lanka’s growth numbers came at first because two different numbers were generated from the Central Bank […]

Sri Lanka rupee dips to 113.80

Dec 29, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka rupee dipped to a low of 113.80 against the greenback in spot trade Monday as it continued to adjust amidst excess liquidity in the inter bank market, dealers said. In late trading, the rupee steadied at 113.65/113.80 after opening at 112.95/113.15 levels. Authorities announced a repo auction […]

Sri Lanka stocks open flat, forex markets quiet

Dec 29, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka stocks opened flat Monday with trading in Seylan Bank shares halted pending an official announcement regarding a possible exit by the Ceylinco group, while the spot dollar was quoted at 112.95/113.15, dealers said. Money markets were liquid with call rates at 13.00/13.50 percent. The Colombo All Share […]

Sri Lankan stocks open the week marginally down

Dec 29, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks Monday opened the week with both indices down due to lack of buyers and steadily falling prices of blue chip stocks pulling trading volumes down, brokers said. The All Share Price Index dipped slightly by 0.65 percent (9.72 points) to close at 1,496.38 points while the more […]

Regulatory Action

Dec 29, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank’s board of directors has been dissolved by the monetary board of the Central Bank and its operations brought under state-run Bank of Ceylon, the regulator said. The Central Bank said it was “discontinuing the services” of the board of Seylan Bank but retaining the current chief […]

Stability Measure

Dec 29, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank’s board of directors has been dissolved by the monetary board of the Central Bank and its operations brought under state-run Bank of Ceylon, a senior bank official said. The Bank of Ceylon is expected to appoint a board and oversee the operations of Seylan, the official […]

Local Banks

Dec 29, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka ‘AA+(lka)’ rated Commercial Bank’s rating is unlikely to be changed following potential hedging losses after courts halted oil derivative payments, but capital build-up at ‘A-(lka)’ People’s Bank could be delayed, Fitch Ratings has said. Private-listed Commercial Bank (CB) has a ‘stable’ outlook on its rating and state-run People’s […]

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