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Zimbabwe finance minister predicts growth, inflation fall
HARARE, Nov 30, 2006 (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s finance minister predicted Thursday marginal economic growth in the coming year and that the country’s four-figure inflation rate would dip to 350 percent as he presented the budget for 2007. “The economy is expected to grow marginally by between 0.5 percent and one percent in 2007,” Herbert Murerwa […]
Indian economy grows faster than expected, sparks interest rate concerns
NEW DELHI, Nov 30, 2006 (AFP) – India’s economy grew a faster-than-expected 9.2 percent in the second quarter to September, official data showed Thursday, prompting concerns that overheating will require higher interest rates.The Indian rupee weakened Wednesday against the dollar to 44.74 from 44.65 after the data was announced, and strengthened against the euro to […]
‘s environment, lifestyle
PANAJI, India, Nov 30, 2006 (AFP) – The once low-budget tourist haven of Goa is facing a crisis, environmentalists say, as developers force up land prices and a tourism boom threatens the delicate coastal ecology.“As a result our forest cover, which was 34 percent in 2001 and projected to increase to 40 percent, has now […]
‘s peace envoy to meet warring parties in Sri Lanka
Nov 30, 2006 (AFP) – A top Norwegian peace broker arrived in Sri Lanka Thursday, a diplomat said, as Tamil Tiger separatists insisted government forces have killed off an Oslo-brokered ceasefire. Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict has claimed at least 60,000 lives since it began in 1972. Envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer was to hold separate talks with […]
Sri Lanka bloodshed to worsen, warns Crisis Group
Nov 30, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s peace initiative was flawed from the start and the island now faces an immediate prospect of more violence, the International Crisis Group (ICG) warns.The conflict resolution experts note however in a new study received here Thursday that neither government forces nor the Tamil rebels appear able to defeat […]
Five killed in Sri Lanka as train hits truck
Nov 30, 2006 (AFP) – Two soldiers and three policemen were killed Thursday when their pick-up truck was hit by a commuter train at an unprotected level crossing near the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, police said.Sri Lanka has stepped up security across the country after Tamil Tiger rebels announced Monday that they had no option […]
Sri Lanka Central Bank shows first signs of ending loose monetary policy
November 30 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank showed the first signs of ending its loose monetary policy after shunting the country into a balance of payments crisis and driving consumer inflation to 19.8 percent in November, as credit to government from the monetary authority climbed towards a billion dollars. In an unusual move, the […]
‘s inflation hits 19.8% as Central Bank credit climbs to Rs 100 bn
November 30, 2006 (LBO) – Consumer prices in Sri Lanka shot up to 19.8 percent in November from 17.2 percent in October, the Census & Statistics Department said Thursday, as Central Bank credit to government climbed to 100 billion rupees, and real interest rates were pushed further into negative territory. Economists had been predicting that […]
‘s Commercial Bank raises debt to fund expansion; meet new regulatory guidelines
November 29, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank of Ceylon is coming out with a debt issue to meet Central Bank’s new capital requirement and fund ongoing credit expansions, officials said Wednesday. The island’s biggest private bank in terms of assets, is issuing a 1.5 billion rupee debenture with tenures ranging from 5-10 years. […]
Humble Philippine peso coin worth more abroad than at home
MANILA, Nov 29, 2006 (AFP) – With a face value of less than two US cents the humble Philippine one peso coin may be worth next to nothing at home but in metal-hungry China it spells big bucks. There is virtually nothing that can be bought with these coins and de la Cruz says that […]
Maldives and India keeps Sri Lankan leisure operators afloat
November 29, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s top hotel groups are increasingly relying on their Maldivian operations and investments into India for survival, as an escalation in violence deters visitors here “The projection for Sri Lanka is rather poor at least for the next few months. If the security situation improves hopefully, things will certainly […]
‘s new budget aims to salvage ruined economy
HARARE, Nov 29, 2006 (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa walks the tightrope Thursday when he unveils the national budget of a food-hungry country groaning under record inflation and a ruined economy.Murerwa has the unenviable task of trying to stem 1,070.2 percent inflation and a free-falling currency in an economy which has shrunk by […]