Tag: Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka November inflation falls to 16.3-pct
Nov 28, 2008 (LBO) – Consumer inflation in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo fell to 16.3 percent in November from 20.2 percent in October, while prices fell by an absolute 0.7 percent in the 28 days of the month, the government’s statistics office said. The moving average of the index, which is smoothed over two years […]
Tricky Position
Nov 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s supreme court said petroleum minister A H M Fowzie should be removed, in a case where controversial oil hedges by a state-run petro firm were challenged in a public interest petition. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 The […]
Oil Bets
Nov 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s supreme court has ordered the state-owned oil refiner, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), to suspend controversial hedge payments to banks until a central bank probe into the matter is over. CPC chairman Ashantha de Mel has maintained that the deals were done on cabinet instructions which had not allowed […]
Floods drive 231,000 from their homes in Sri Lanka
November 27, 2008 (AFP) – At least two government soldiers drowned and more than 230,000 civilians were driven from their homes in Sri Lanka’s embattled north Thursday after monsoon floods and a mini-cyclone, officials said.The Disaster Management centre said the northern peninsula of Jaffna was the worst hit, with 2,032 homes completely destroyed and another […]
Hedge Probe
Nov 27, 2008 (LBO) – A team of Sri Lankan ministers is probing an oil hedge that could lose hundreds of millions of dollars to a state-run oil retailer amidst claims that the oil retailer had not informed the cabinet clearly about risks of derivatives trading. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog […]
Sri Lanka should be prepared for a prolonged external slowdown: interview
Nov 27, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should be prepared for a prolonged external slowdown as the world recovers from excessive debt brought on by paper money central banks, especially the Federal Reserve, says a Netherlands-based economist. Howard Nicholas from the Institute of Social Studies in the Netherlands spoke to LBO during a visit to […]
Sri Lanka clamps down on last minute spending
Nov 26, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has clamped down on new spending, with the Treasury asking government departments to freeze new capital projects and current spending till next year, amidst tight revenues.The government has also been finding it difficult to borrow abroad. A Treasury circular said the government had decided to “manage public expenditure […]
” to self-rule
NUUK, November 26, 2008 (AFP) – More than 75 percent of Greenlanders voted Tuesday in favour of self-rule in a referendum that paves the way for independence from Denmark, final results showed. A total of 75.54 percent voted “yes” to greater autonomy, while 23.57 percent said “no,” the local government said. A self-rule proposal hammered […]
Sri Lanka cuts reserve ratio to 7.75-pct
Nov 25, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has cut its statutory reserve ratio for commercial banks from 9.25 percent to 7.75 percent, releasing 17 billion rupees in cash to the banking system, the central bank said. The statutory reserve ratio (SRR) cut will release 17 billion rupees to the banking system when it becomes effective […]
Greenlanders go to the polls to decide on self-rule
NUUK, November 25, 2008 (AFP) – Some 39,000 people in Greenland vote on Tuesday in a referendum on self-rule for the Danish territory, a move that could pave the way for total independence for the Arctic island.Public opinion polls in the run-up to the referendum have suggested that a large majority plan to vote in […]
Gulf shares slump despite government moves
KUWAIT CITY, November 23, 2008 (AFP) – Most stock markets in the energy-rich Gulf slumped on the week’s opener Sunday as intervention by governments failed to restore sentiment among investors worried by global financial turmoil. Riyadh cut interest rates for the third time in six weeks, slashing the repo rate by one percentage point a […]
China, India rising, but face bumpy ride: intelligence forecast
WASHINGTON, November 22, 2008 (AFP) – A new US intelligence forecast identifies China and India as rising heavyweights in a coming multi-polar world but says both face a potentially bumpy ride to the top.“Although we believe chances are good that China and India will continue to rise, their ascent is not guaranteed and will require […]