Tag: Finance

Dec 31, 2008 (LBO ) – Consumer price inflation in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo fell to 14.4 percent in the 12-months to December from 16.3 percent in November, the government’s statistics office said. In the first half of 2008 inflation was high partly due to effects of loose policy in 2007 and also high inflation […]

Dec 30, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government has moved to protect and revive the tea and rubber industries with a host of incentives announced in a wide-ranging economic stimulus package. These measures meet long-standing demand of tea cultivators, especially small farmers, and factory owners. The government will also set up a state trading institution […]

Dec 30, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has announced a ‘stimulus package’ valued at 16 billion rupees to maintain growth at an optimistic 6.0 to 6.5 percent in 2009, with cuts in energy prices and incentives for exporters. “We have been able to maintain a growth rate of 6.0 percent or above in the past […]

Dec 29, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s statistics office has defended their numbers from a growing tide of skepticism amid further revelations about the involvement of the island’s policymakers in manipulating the country’s price index. The skepticism about Sri Lanka’s growth numbers came at first because two different numbers were generated from the Central Bank […]

SAIPAN, December 29, 2008 (AFP) – The Northern Mariana Islands, faced with an escalating economic crisis, needs a four-day working week to cut costs, Governor Benigno Fitial said Monday. Fitial, who rejected a proposed budget bill that contained pay increases for department heads, said cost-cutting measures were “critical.” The department of finance said the Northern […]

WASHINGTON, December 27, 2008 (AFP) – Christmas retail sales plunged in the United States, a poll showed Friday, as Japan reported record cuts in production and more signs emerged that Spain has entered a recession. A leading think tank in London also forecast the British economy would shrink by 2.9 percent next year in the […]

Dec 26, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tsunami recovery efforts were hampered by lack of effective institutions, the International Development Association (IDA), part of the World Bank group said.“Reconstruction needs strong and accountable institutions,” it said in a statement. “Sri Lanka’s tsunami reconstruction was hampered from time to time by the dearth of effective institutions, […]

Dec 24, 2008 (LBO) – The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank group, said it is helping streamline business licensing in Sri Lankan’s southern Matara district. The Matara Municipal Council and the IFC are making it easier for small businessmen to get licenses to start businesses, an IFC statement said. It […]

Dec 23, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has spent 266 million US dollars intervening in foreign exchange markets in November, taking the total over the past three months to over a billion dollars, the latest official data has revealed.But the inter bank market now has domestically generated excess liquidity of around six billion rupees, down […]

De 19, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is looking for alternative sources of foreign funding, the central bank said, as global financial markets remained in turmoil and risk premiums high despite unprecedented rate cuts by reserve currency central banks.The Central Bank says a major part of speculative capital that came into the government securities market […]

Dec 19, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s inflation is falling faster than expected, the Central Bank said, as a global collapse in commodities washed into the country and the country’s money growth was also kept in check. Sri Lanka’s central bank targets the monetary base, which is expected to influence growth in other monetary aggregates, […]

Dec 18, 2008 (LBO) – Developed countries should not shut out migrant workers at times of economic crisis as they still face labour shortages and workers need to send money home to fight poverty, International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. They should see migrants as part of the solution during economic crises, the IOM said […]