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Cyprus and Malta adopt low inflation euro
NICOSIA, Jan 1, 2008 (AFP) – Cyprus and Malta joined the eurozone on Tuesday, bidding farewell to the Cyprus pound and Maltese lira, expanding the club of countries using the single European currency to 15. In Malta, central bank chief Michael Bonello voiced concern that people are hoarding the equivalent of about 466 million euros […]
Sri Lanka arrests alleged assassin of opposition lawmaker: defence ministry
Jan 01, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan police have arrested a suspected gunman alleged to have shot dead a Tamil parliamentarian at a Hindu temple in the capital Colombo Tuesday, the defence ministry said. The suspected gunman had been wounded when a bodyguard of assassinated lawmaker T Maheshwaran returned fire during the attack, the ministry […]
Gunned down Sri Lanka Tamil lawmaker did not ask for more security: defence secy
Jan 01, 2008 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan Tamil parliamentarian who was assassinated Tuesday morning had not asked for additional protection, the island’s top defence bureaucrat has said. T. Maheshwaran, an opposition United National Party (UNP) lawmaker, was gunned down by unknown gunmen at a Hindu temple in a suburb north of the capital Colombo. […]
Sri Lanka Tamil lawmaker shot dead
Jan 01, 2008 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan Tamil parliamentarian has died after being shot inside a Hindu temple in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo Tuesday morning, police and hospital officials said. T. Maheshwaran was rushed to hospital in a critical condition but succumbed to his injuries soon after, Colombo hospital director Hector Weerasinghe told […]
Sri Lanka Tamil lawmaker shot
Jan 01, 2008 (LBO) – Gunmen shot a Tamil parliamentarian inside a Hindu temple in the Sri Lankan capital Tuesday morning, eyewitnesses and police said. T. Maheshwaran was rushed to hospital, police said. He had previously survived an assassination attempt by the Tamil Tigers when he represented the United National Party, now in the opposition. […]
Sri Lanka gunmen open fire in Hindu temple: eyewitness
Jan 01, 2007 (LBO) – Gunshots were heard inside a Hindu temple in the Kotahena area of the Sri Lanka capital Colombo, eyewitnesses said. A witness at the scene said he had heard half a dozen gunshots sending devotees stampeding for cover. .. For updates on this story go to the news front page at […]
Sri Lanka quantity targeting exercise fails; lessons for 2008
Jan 01, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank says it met the milestones of an ill-fated reserve money targeting exercise in 2007, though inflation went out of control during the year, showing up the pitfalls of quantity targeting. The bank said it achieved the year end target of 267.6 billion rupees with room to […]
Canal Charge
ISMAILIYA, Egypt, Dec 30, 2007 (AFP) – Transit fees for ships using Egypt’s Suez Canal will increase in 2008 by an average of 7.1 percent, the canal authority said on Sunday. Fees will rise by 5.7 percent for container ships, by 7.3 percent for oil tankers and by 10.5 percent for natural gas ships, authority […]
Another One
Dec 31, 2007 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has downgraded the State Mortgage and Investment Bank (SMIB) by one notch to A-(lka) and lowered its rating outlook to negative from stable, just as it downgraded HDFC Bank, another mortgage lender. “The rating downgrade reflects SMIB’s deteriorating profitability brought on by its inherent interest rate risk, and […]
Housing Woes
Dec 31, 2007 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has downgraded the long-term rating of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) by one notch to ‘A-(lka)’ from ‘A (lka)’ and also lowered its outlook to negative from stable. “The rating downgrades reflect HDFC’s deteriorating profitability brought on by its inherent interest rate risk, and the escalation of such […]
Sri Lankan cloves to be dearer on shortfall
Dec 31, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan cloves growers are seen benefiting from an expected rise in prices owing to a shortfall in production in the island and elsewhere and rising demand, trade officials said. Cloves production in India, the main buyer of the Sri Lankan spice, is also down and unable to meet the […]
Chaos as Zimbabwe demonetizes Z$200,000 note
HARARE, Dec 31, 2007 (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s central bank chief extended a deadline Monday to exchange 200,000 dollar bills just hours before they were to cease being legal tender after scenes of chaos at banks across the country.Last year, the central bank knocked three zeros from the country’s currency in a bid to rein in […]