Tag: economy

Dec 07, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is looking at a 5-year horizon for its reserve investments in gold, Central Bank governor Nivard Cabraal said as gold hit historic highs against the dollar amid unprecedented US money printing.Gold hit 1,200 against the Federal Reserve unit amid unprecedented loose monetary policy pursued by the Fed. There […]

December 6, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka is back on the global investment radar after government forces in May ended a nearly four-decade separatist war with Tamil guerrillas, fund managers and analysts say. Sri Lanka’s small stock exchange has become one of the world’s top performing bourses, climbing over 96 percent this year as it […]

Dec 04, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s deficit spending, heavy state consumption, opaque monetary and fiscal policies and resulting high inflation has stifled investment credit markets and skewed savers towards the short term, analysts have said.“Vacillating primary account deficits meant volatile interest rates, further hampering any viable termed out structure of savings, of whatever savings […]

Dec 04, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to spend 15 billion rupees on rebuilding a northern town that was affected by fighting between security forces and Tamil Tiger separatists, the Ministry of Urban Development said.It said in a statement that an entirely new city will be built in the town of Vavuniya under the […]

WASHINGTON, December 3, 2009 (AFP) – Lawmakers are likely to vent frustration over the economy and bailout of the financial system Thursday at a Senate confirmation hearing for Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. The powerful central bank chief is nonetheless expected to win approval for a second four-year term from the Banking Committee and the […]

Dec 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has lashed out at exporters who engaged in a policy debate on the island’s exchange rate saying they were “partisan” and were “driven by personal interests”, unlike its own stance which was “professional”. The Central Bank has been under fire for creating high inflation from 2004, […]

Dec 02, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s private sector credit started expanding in September 2009 ending eight months of contraction and the Central Bank says it would like to see more credit growth before tightening monetary policy.Growing private sector credit demand could also push risk free yields up as the risk appetite of banks increase. […]

LONDON, December 1, 2009 (AFP) – The price of gold reached above 1,200 dollars an ounce for the first time on Tuesday as a weak US currency pushed up demand for the precious metal viewed as a safe-haven investment, analysts said. Gold struck a record high 1,201.63 dollars an ounce on the London Bullion Market […]

Nov 30, 2009 (LBO) – Consumer prices in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo rose 2.8 percent in November 2009 from a year earlier, against 1.4 percent in October, indicating inflation is picking up, the government’s statistics office and analysts said. The statistics office said that in November 2009, the 12-month moving average, a seasonally adjusted inflation […]

Nov 27, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka must act against corrupt government officials and businessmen and ensure local firms play fair with foreign companies if it wants to attract investors, the American envoy to the island has said. It needs to unshackle the media, be more open to trade and better protect intellectual property rights […]

Nov 25, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has bought 10 metric tonnes of gold for 375 million US dollars from the International Monetary Fund, following in the wake of India and Mauritius, the international monetary watchdog said. The IMF said the deal was made at November 23 prices. Sri Lanka’s central bank Governor Nivard Cabraal […]

DUBAI, November 26, 2009 (AFP) – The plan by state-owned Dubai World to suspend payments on its large debts highlights the sharp economic reversal in the once-booming Gulf Emirate.A timeline of events since the global economic crisis began: 2008 – Oct 5:The frenetic expansion of Dubai appears relentless as state-owned Nakheel announces plans for a […]