South Asia need freer trade to have food security: policy advocate

July 5, 2013 (LBO) – South Asian countries could improve food security by avoiding export restrictions in food and increases in overall trade will also help reduce poverty, a regional policy advocate said.Banning exports of food to neighboring countries and the rest of the world whenever prices go up should be avoided, Bipul Chatterjee, deputy […]

More Sri Lankan boat people returned by Australia

July 05, 2013 (LBO) – Australia has returned 15 more Sri Lankan boat people taking the total sent back so far to 1,285, an Australian government statement said.Of those returned 1,072 were sent back involuntarily. The statement said the sending back boat people sent a “powerful message” and they were wasting money to travel to […]

‘s outlook downgrade

July 03, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has disputed a cut in the outlook to stable from positive on the island’s ‘B1’ sovereign rating saying it is “backward looking” and not a proper reflection of the external position and recent improvements in the economy. Moody’s cut the outlook saying external bank borrowings had […]

Sri Lanka interim budget data revealed according to law: opposition

July 03, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s finance ministry has revealed budget data conforming to a fiscal responsibility law for the first time in years, opposition legislator Harsha de Silva has said. De Silva had also charged that changes to the fiscal responsibility law to allow the central government to increase the limit on guarantees […]

China top Sri Lanka top lender up to April 2013, Japan follows

July 03, 2013 (LBO) – China has given 165.28 million US dollars for projects financed in Sri Lanka in the first four month of 2013, though Japan has committed more new funding in the period, official data show. The World Bank has disbursed 95.7 million US dollars (0.84 million in grants) in the period, coming […]

Sri Lanka income taxes collections up following lower rates

July 03, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s income tax collection have risen sharply in the first few months of the year, despite a slowing economy after rates were brought down as part of tax reforms in 2011, according to a finance ministry report.The finance ministry said it reflected “a favourable consolidation of the impact of […]

Sri Lanka budget deficit 3.9-pct of GDP up to April 2013

July 02, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has posted a budget deficit of 3.9 percent of gross domestic product for the first four months of 2013, against a full year target of 5.8 percent of GDP, finance ministry data showed. State revenues for the first four months was 326.6 billion rupees, up from 313.9 billion […]

”’s

July 02, 2013 (LBO) – Moody’s Investors Service has cut the outlook on Sri Lanka’s ‘B1’ credit rating to ‘stable’ from ‘positive’ on rising bank foreign debt and continuing budget deficits and high state debt.Related to the debt level was slowing economic growth. After growing 8.1 percent in 2010 and 2011, economic growth had since […]

New Bank of England boss Carney faces stimulus battle

LONDON, June 30, 2013 (AFP) – Canadian Mark Carney begins his job as governor of the Bank of England on Monday, joining an institution divided on whether to pump out more cash stimulus to boost Britain’s fragile economic recovery.Carney, who made his name as head of the Bank of Canada where he helped to guide […]

Sri Lanka urban inflation index up 7.1-pct in June

July 01, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s consumer prices rose 7.1 percent in the 12-month to June 2013 from a year earlier, slowing from 9.6 percent in May, an index compiled by a private research house showed.The CAL Urban Index, fell 1.3 percent absolutely during the month, CAL Research, a unit of Sri Lanka’s Capital […]

Sri Lanka stock market opening delayed over IT issue

June 28, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s stock market trading is halted until a problem with client accounts in its automated trading system is resolved, the Colombo Stock Exchange said Friday. “We have found that a mismatch has arisen in certain client balances displayed on the Automated Trading System (ATS) during the pre-open session (9.00 […]

Sri Lanka needs human co-existence, institutions: Chamber boss

June 28, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has tremendous natural advantages to progress but needs human co-existence and better institutions of governance, a business chamber boss has said amidst rising nationalism and deteriorating institutions of liberty. Shah said Sri Lanka also needs to push exports for growth. He replaced Susantha Ratnayake as the head of […]

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