Tag: Finance

LONDON, October 6, 2009 (AFP) – The price of gold struck an all-time high Tuesday as the dollar fell on a news report of a plan by Gulf states to stop using the greenback for oil trading.Gold hit 1,045.00 dollars per ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange in late trades. Hours earlier on the […]

SYDNEY, October 6, 2009 (AFP) – Australia on Tuesday became the first advanced economy to raise interest rates since the global financial crisis and promised more rises to come, boldly declaring the risk of recession over. The central bank announced a rise of 25 basis points to 3.25 percent, lifting rates off a 49-year low […]

Oct 05, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Institute of Policy Studies has released its annual analysis of the country’s economy looking at the impact of a downturn in 2008 and policies needed for recovery, the think tank said. IPS’s annual report, Sri Lanka: State of the Economy 2009, is themed on ‘Global Economic Crisis: Issues, […]

Oct 02, 2009 (LBO) – A decision on delaying Sri Lanka 2010 budget and seeking parliamentary approval for spending in the interim, would be made latest by next week, deputy finance minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said.But a senior official said a vote-on-account, or a mini budget for a shorter duration than a year could also presented […]

October 1, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Thursday said it accepted much of the United Nations’ recent criticism over its handling of 250,000 Tamils detained in camps since the end of the island’s ethnic conflict six months ago. Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe pledged the government would address recommendations made by Walter Kaelin, a […]

Oct 01, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s plantations industry is demanding the release of funds taken as an export tax and is asking to treated as exporters under the value added tax regime as they were before, to help cope with a recent wage hike to workers. “We’ve got to see where we can get […]

Sept 30, 2009 (LBO) – Consumer prices in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo rose 0.7 percent in September from a year earlier, down from 0.9 percent in August, the government’s statistics office said.The monetary authority, which keeps the rupee pegged to the US dollar, has relaxed policy rates, but has been engaging in steady “quantity tightening” […]

Sept 29, 2009 (LBO) – Poor governance, weak institutions, high inflation, high interest rates and protectionism, are hindering efforts by Sri Lanka’s private sector to improve productivity, a trade promotion expert has said.Lloyd Yapa, a former government official who supervised an industrial export drive of the government at one time, also says companies should try […]

Sept 28, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state revenues picked up in July, with taxes in the first seven months only 1.47 percent behind last year, but the budget gap continues to be wide, with current expenses growing 24.7 percent, the latest official data showed. The implied annualized overall deficit narrowed to 10.4 percent of […]

Sept 28, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s former Treasury Secretary P B Jayasundera has resumed his post with immediate effect after the President Mahinda Rajapaksa re-appointed him to the post, the department of government information said. Jayasundera had served as Treasury Secretary under two Pesidents. Sumith Abeysinghe, who was Treasury Secretary has been made Cabinet […]

Sept 28, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has met the key end-September quantitative targets under an International Monetary Fund program, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said.“We have met all the targets under the program,” Cabraal said. A key target is a ceiling on reserve money or the narrowest supply of money made up of circulating […]

Sept 27, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka government’s budget for 2010 which is usually presented to parliament in November may be delayed till after elections expected in April, a media report said.Another IMF mission is due in November. It is not clear whether the 2010 structural benchmark for December 31, 2010 will be dropped […]