Category:
Giving Hope
August 23, 2006 (LBO) – Vanik Inc., Wednesday offered creditors a chance of swapping their debt in return for equity, and also disclosed plans to reduce the par value of its stock. Meegoda later informed the stock exchange that the shareholder who sought an EGM had sold out. The ailing firm has sought a meeting […]
High Note
August 23, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lankan apparel exports to Europe grew by as much as 30 percent in June, as manufacturers made better use of tax breaks to the EU. The industry earned 1.32 billion dollars in the first half of this year, a four percent growth, though exports to top market the United […]
Scrabble goes pink for charity
LONDON, Aug 23, 2006 (AFP) – The famous board game Scrabble is to change colour for the first time in its history, to raise money for research into breast cancer, its makers Mattel announced Wednesday.Letter tiles, racks, boards and boxes will be tinged pink, with 1.50 pounds (2.20 euros, 2.83 dollars) from each 15-pound sale […]
Marlboro Lights to go up in smoke?
WASHINGTON, Aug 23, 2006 (AFP) – They are the world’s best-selling cigarettes, a fashion prop for celebrities, an icon of marketing and the preferred smoke of millions.But if a federal judge has her way, Marlboro Lights will soon be no more in the United States. Already banned in the European Union and Brazil, so-called descriptor […]
Witness priest missing after Sri Lanka church deaths: group
Aug 23, 2006 (AFP) – A Catholic priest has gone missing after witnessing the deaths of 15 people sheltering in a church hit by shelling during fighting in northern Sri Lanka, a Tamil rights group said Wednesday.Parish priest Thiruchelvam Nihal Jim Brown, 34, helped the injured after the church was hit 10 days ago on […]
Sri Lanka troops shell Tiger targets amid lull in Jaffna
Aug 23, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops fired rockets and artillery at suspected Tamil Tiger positions in the island’s northeast Wednesday amid a lull in fighting in the northern peninsula of Jaffna, the military said.More than 60,000 people have been killed in the Tamil separatist conflict in the past three decades. Troops in the […]
Sri Lanka relief ship sails for Jaffna after loading delays
Aug 23, 2006 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan cargo ship has finally started a delayed two-day voyage with food aid for thousands stranded by fighting in the embattled Jaffna peninsula, aid agencies said Wednesday.The ship left the port of Colombo late Tuesday under the Red Cross flag with aid for some 350,000 people cut off […]
Sri Lanka fighting set for long haul: analysts
Aug 23, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s latest fighting could drag on despite international pressure as the government and Tiger rebels seek the military upper hand before entering peace talks, officials and analysts say.The bloodiest battles in four and a half years since a truce came into effect has claimed heavy losses on both sides, […]
Breaking Barriers
August 22, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s long-suffering fund management industry is working with market regulators to promote closed-end funds and give an exit route to investors by listing units on the Colombo Stock Exchange, a senior official said Tuesday. In 2004, the Securities & Exchange Commission unveiled a new code for mutual funds which […]
Big Step
August 22, 2006 (LBO) – Commercial Bank of Ceylon Tuesday posted a 69 percent rise in group profits for the six months to June boosted by growth in net interest income and foreign exchange gains. Sri Lanka’s most profitable commercial bank said group post tax profits advanced 68.8 percent to 1,475.1 million rupees over the […]
Four conferences in Sri Lanka cancelled on security fears
August 22, 2006 (LBO) – Four global conferences to be hosted by Sri Lanka later this year have been cancelled on security fears, though the island is confident it can woo at least half a million tourists by December. The events, including a textile conference, were to host at least a thousand people, Prathap Ramanujam, […]
Sri Lanka rubber prices fall behind India, Thailand
August 22, 2006 (LBO) – Rubber prices in Sri Lanka have been dropping since July, following stiff competition from regional producers like Thailand and India. “Thailand being one of the biggest suppliers of rubber in the region has had better volumes from their crops, resulting in a drop in Sri Lanka’s rubber price,” Damitha Perera, […]