Tag: economy

Oct 13, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government hopes to raise an additional two billion rupees a year in tax revenue through a recent increase in excise tax, a senior treasury official said. Raising revenue by taxing drinkers has long been a favourite tactic of successive governments in the island where per capita consumption of […]

NEW YORK, October 11, 2008 (AFP) – Wall Street’s worst meltdown in recent memory ended the week with a whimper, leaving panicked investors wondering whether the vicious selloff will end soon or will keep ravaging the market. Ironically, some analysts say the meltdown on Wall Street and other global markets could mean a “bottom” has […]

LONDON, October 10, 2008 (AFP) – Global stocks went into a tailspin on Friday, with double-digit losses in Frankfurt, London and Tokyo, on widespread fears that the financial crisis was spiralling out of control, dealers said.World finance chiefs were preparing an emergency meeting in Washington as a wave of panic selling swept across markets. Interest […]

PARIS, October 8, 2008 (AFP) – European Central Bank Chief Jean-Claude Trichet urged financial markets to “collect” themselves Wednesday after Wall Street and European stock exchanges tumbled again despite coordinated central bank cut rates. “Collect yourselves,” Trichet said on France 3 television. “Excessive pessimism is ill advised.” “We all together call upon the market participants […]

Oct 09, 2008 (LBO) – The World Bank has said Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector is being held back by wrong policies that place a heavy reliance on subsidies and restrictive land ownership rules. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 The bank’s new country assistance strategy […]

HARARE, October 9, 2008 (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s annual inflation rate soared to 231 million percent in July, a state newspaper said Thursday, confirming the daily hardships of a nation driven into poverty and trapped in a political impasse.Staggering increases in the price of bread and cereals were the main reason for the jump from the […]

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 […]

Oct 07, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s controversial ‘core’ inflation index, which is claimed to be more responsive to monetary action, continued its relentless upward climb even as headline inflation moderated amid tight policy. In an earlier era, in France, paper money ‘central bankers’ who pushed food commodity prices up, created high inflation and economic […]

Oct 06, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s science and technology ministry have sounded out India about using the island’s Thorium deposits in nuclear energy, and an Indian team is expected to visit the country to study the idea, a media report said. The Daily Mirror newspaper quoted science and technology minister Tissa Vitharana as saying […]

Oct 06, 2008 (LBO) – The World Bank will give Sri Lanka 900 million dollars in aid under its new four-year country assistance strategy aimed at achieving more balanced and equitable growth. The World Bank wants to make sure its work is not undermined by corruption and will support efforts to strengthen core governance institutions […]

Oct 04, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said inflation would come down to below 20 percent by year end, but its monetary program is now threatened by liquidity injections in the midst of a sudden foreign reserve outflow. “Point-to-point inflation would come down to below 20 percent,” central bank governor Nivard Cabraal told […]

OTTAWA, October 3, 2008 (AFP) – Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Thursday blamed current US financial woes and its worldwide fallout on “irresponsible” policies. “The economic and financial mess in the US is disastrous and the policies have been irresponsible,” Harper said during a televised political debate ahead of an October 14 vote. His […]