Tag: Finance

April 07, 2008 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund has warned that the current commodity bubble, perhaps the biggest in four decades, which has sent oil, metals and food prices zooming may burst soon as a global credit bubble unwinds rapidly. . A crumbling commodity bubble, while lowering oil and imported food prices could reduce […]

April 05, 2008 (LBO) – Lower average inflation and a temporary halt in an internal conflict have lowered Sri Lanka’s poverty levels by 2006, government statistics showed, amid warnings that rising prices may reverse the gains. The number of people below the official poverty line fell to 15 percent from nearly 22.7 percent in 2002, […]

April 03, 2008 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has downgraded Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating by one notch to ‘B+’ saying budgets were weak, inflation was high and the country was borrowing heavily from foreign lenders at commercial rates. The rating agency said the government’s “overriding priority” was war rather than fixing the economy. “The ratings downgrade […]

April 03, 2008 (LBO) — Sri Lanka has disputed a sovereign credit downgrade by one notch to ‘B+’ by Fitch Ratings Thursday, saying it was based on the rating agency’s pessimistic views and was not in line with economic fundamentals. . “The downward revision of ratings is based on Fitch’s pessimistic views on the security […]

April 02, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s money supply growth has slowed faster than expected in the first quarter of 2008, amid tight monetary policy and credit growth was also falling, the central bank has said. Reserve money, measured as a quarterly average grew to only 273.7 billion rupees compared to a targeted ceiling of […]

April 01, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank says a ‘core’ inflation index from which a number of expenditure components have been dropped is low, after consumer prices in the capital Colombo hit a historic new record. Inflation measured by the New Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI-N) rose to a new record of 23.8 […]

Mar 31, 2008 (LBO) — Consumer prices in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo measured by a controversial new index hit 23.8 percent in the 12-months to March, while an older index hit a record high of 28.1 percent, government data showed. . The price rises came after at least three months of tight monetary policy and […]

Mar 31, 2008 (LBO) – Falling dependence on the US economy will allow Sri Lanka to ride out a recession in that country, a top central banker said, amid warnings that the current global turmoil may become deeper. Economics Research chief of Sri Lanka’s central bank P N Weerasinghe said the share of exports to […]

Mar 28, 2008 (LBO) – Most of Sri Lanka’s inflation is not ‘imported’ or caused by oil, a major new International Monetary Fund research study has found, indicating that the mainly home grown price rises could be slashed with better economic policies. . The IMF study released Saturday that covers a steep rise in Sri […]

Mar 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has removed a special tax on rice and allowed any private trader to import rice, the information ministry said as the government tried to import ‘deflation’ in to the country. . “With the intention of easing the burden of the people, the Government has decided to sanction the […]

Mar 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is getting a 65.3 million US dollar credit from the World Bank to improve the safety at high risk dams and boost water resources planning capacity in the island, the multilateral lender has said. The project will cover 80 dams of which 32 are considered high risk. The […]

Mar 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economy expanded 6.8 percent in 2007 against 7.7 percent in 2006, but in the fourth quarter growth accelerated to 7.6 percent from 7.4 percent in the same period last year, government data showed. Head of Statistics Suranjana Vidyaratne said industry grew by 7.6 percent, services by 7.1 percent […]