Category:
UN chief rails against suicide attacks in Sri Lanka
UNITED NATIONS, October 7, 2008 (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday condemned the latest suicide attacks in Sri Lanka, including one which killed at least 27 people.The attack in the northern town of Anuradhapura came as the Sri Lankan military appeared on the verge of capturing the rebel Tigers’ key headquarters as part […]
Major central banks cut rates to head off deflationary collapse
Oct 08, 2008 (LBO) – Major reserve currency central bank led by the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England joined by Swiss and Swedish authorities cut rates by 50 basis points in a bid to head off a deflationary collapse of the global economic system. With interest rates already low the Bank of […]
Sri Lanka stocks tumble, Maskeliya loses gains
Oct 07, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares ended sharply lower dragged down by falls in large cap stocks with Maskeliya Plantations, which had risen on speculation of a takeover, plunging Tuesday, brokers said. Secretaries to Maskeliya Plantations said in a stock exchange filing that the RPC group was holding talks on the possible sale […]
Dollar Loan
Oct 07, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has called proposals for a 300 million US dollar syndicated loan, with another 150 million US dollars now being negotiated, the government’s debt office said. The proposed syndicated loan would be about 32 billion Sri Lankan rupees. “As envisaged in the Budget and approved by Parliament, the funds […]
Reaching Out
Oct 07, 2008 (LBO) – The World Bank is increasing support for Sri Lankan small businesses, through its private sector funding arm, International Finance Corporation (IFC) which is considering giving rupee loans.“Such financing would allow IFC to reach out to companies and sectors which generate local currency revenues (such as the infrastructure sector and second-tier […]
Winding Up
Oct 07, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s troubled merchant bank Vanik Incorporation said it had been ordered to wind up by the district court of Colombo in a case filed by a foreign and a local bank. The case will be called on November 21, 2008 for further steps, Vanik said in a stock exchange […]
India central bank cuts cash ratio amidst currency pressure
MUMBAI, October 6, 2008 (AFP) – India’s central bank injected liquidity into the financial system by cutting the amount of cash commercial banks must hold in reserve, citing “a sharp deterioration” in the world financial situation. After a day of market turmoil in which Indian stocks plunged nearly six percent, the bank lowered the cash […]
‘ opposition vows to unseat lord of the atolls
MALE, October 7, 2008 (AFP) – For the main opposition leader of the Maldives, life on the islands is a far cry from the more familiar image portrayed by holiday brochures.While its white sand beaches and crystal clear waters may be a paradise for well-heeled tourists, the Indian Ocean nation is beset by rising crime, […]
Sri Lanka to code share with Etihad to Europe and Jordan
Oct 07, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan Airlines will code share with Abu Dhabi based Etihad to Geneva, Dublin, Munich, Brussels and Manchester, while Eithad will use Sri Lankan to enter Maldives, the airline said. The new code-shares had started on October 01. “SriLankan Airlines looks forward to a fruitful long-term relationship with Etihad,”Sri Lankan […]
Fear as Icelandic bank freezes British transactions
LONDON, October 7, 2008 (AFP) – British customers with accounts in the online arm of faltering Iceland’s second-biggest bank voiced alarm after it halted transactions. Icesave stopped British customers withdrawing or depositing money, it announced, as Icelandic authorities said they had taken control of the bank and the island’s financial sector teetered on the brink […]
Nationalisations and rescues stepped up in finance debacle
PARIS, October 7, 2008 (AFP) – The EU moved to increase support for big banks as the international finance chaos deepened Tuesday, with Russia setting up a huge rescue package for its banks and markets again panicking. Russia was also to negotiate a four billion euro (5.4 billion dollar) emergency loan to Iceland, which is […]
‘s Nano mini-car
GANDHINAGAR, October 7, 2008 (AFP) – India’s Tata Motors signed an agreement on Tuesday to secure a new home for its troubled Nano cheap car project in the business-friendly state of Gujarat. The move came after Ratan Tata, the group’s chairman, decided to abandon a nearly completed factory in communist-run West Bengal due to violent […]