Obama readies economic team with New York Fed boss tipped for Treasury secy

WASHINGTON, November 22, 2008 (AFP) – The economic team of US president-elect Barack Obama came into view Friday as fears mounted on the global financial crisis and more mass job cuts loomed worldwide.Reports said Obama was set to appoint New York Federal Reserve chief Timothy Geithner as his Treasury secretary to take charge of fixing […]

Gravy Train

Nov 21, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government has increased the customs duty on imported petrol by 10 rupees per litre to 35 rupees from yesterday, a senior Treasury official says. We are increasing the taxes to trim the extra profits the two petroleum companies are making with the sudden drop in world energy […]

Sri Lanka has a chance to attract shifting industries: economist

Nov 20, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has a chance to attract industries from advanced nations in the wake of current turmoil if the country can put its house in order with a longer term view and create a strong base for industry, an economist has said. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your […]

US consumer prices plunge record 1.0 pct in October

WASHINGTON, November 19, 2008 (AFP) – US consumer prices plunged a record 1.0 percent in October amid an accelerating global financial crisis, government data showed Wednesday. The one-month decline in the Labor Department’s consumer price index (CPI) was the steepest since the department began publishing seasonally adjusted changes in February 1947 and exceeded analysts’ consensus […]

” under current conditions: official

Nov 18, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s infrastructure projects could face delays if the island is unable to raise over half a billion dollars though commercial loans amid tough conditions in global financial markets, a top official said. “The government needs external financing of around 500 million dollars in commercial money for financing counterparty funds […]

Sri Lanka should tap IMF, get economic antibiotics: economists

Nov 17, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should tap the International Monetary Fund for a stabilization package early as the country is heading for balance of payments trouble and unsustainable budget deficits, a top economist has said. IMF conditions bring fiscal prudence, and tight monetary policy, making it difficult for politicians to coddle loss making […]

Sri Lanka cuts money target for third quarter, amid currency trouble

Nov 14, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has cut the reserve money target for the fourth quarter of 2008, amid warnings that its monetary program has been severely de-stabilized by currency intervention and liquidity injections. The Central Bank said the fourth quarter reserve money target has been cut to 285 billion rupees, from […]

Sri Lanka bilingual education gets World Bank priority

Nov 13, 2008 (LBO) – The World Bank said one of the aims of its new aid programme for Sri Lanka was to help achieve ethnic harmony through bilingual education and mixed schooling of the island’s two main communities. World Bank country director Naoko Ishii said the new country assistance strategy was designed to be […]

Sri Lanka scores poorly in ease of paying tax ranking

Nov 13, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has been ranked near the bottom of a new global ranking on paying taxes, making it one of the most difficult countries for business to pay their dues.Among the key findings of the study are that economies that rank highly on the ease of paying taxes tend to […]

Back Tracking

LONDON, November 12, 2008 (AFP) – Oil prices sank under 53 dollars a barrel here on Wednesday, hitting the lowest level since January 2007, as traders worried about weaker demand for energy amid a gloomy economic outlook.In afternoon London trade, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in December plunged to 52.88 dollars a barrel, a […]

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