Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka tightens rules on forex dealers
Sept 02, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has tightened rules on foreign exchange dealing issuing a direction that specifies qualifications and experience of dealing room personnel, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said.The new rules comes soon after Nations Trust Bank, a licensed commercial bank, reported 800 million in forex losses following trades which the bank […]
Sri Lanka jailed reporter named winner of Peter Mackler Award
WASHINGTON, August 31, 2009 (AFP) – J.S. Tissainayagam, a Sri Lankan reporter sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison, has been named the first winner of the Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism.“We are happy to reward J.S. Tissainayagam in 2009, a terrible year for Sri Lanka,” said Jean-Francois Julliard, secretary-general of the […]
Sri Lankan stocks close down 0.16-pct
Sep 01, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed down Monday owing to profit taking from last week’s gains, while investors bet heavily on market speculation of a possible takeover of The Finance Company by Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka, brokers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) fell 0.16 percent (4.28 points) […]
Sri Lanka bill yields flat
Sept 01, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Treasuries yields were flat for the fourth week running at Tuesday’s auction with the 3-month yield at 10.55 percent, down 02 basis points and the 6-month yield at 11.42 percent, down 01 basis point, the government’s debt office said.However the Central Bank has been sterilizing liquidity on a […]
Sri Lanka August inflation 0.9-pct
Aug 31, 2009 (LBO) – Consumer prices in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo moved up 0.9 percent from a year earlier, compared with 1.1 percent in July, the government’s statistics office said. In the month of August, prices fell 0.3 percent. Un-adjusted inflation was 1.1 percent in July. Prices adjusted for seasonal changes, which is a […]
Sri Lanka economists look for recovery at annual parley
Aug 31, 2009 (LBO) – The way forward following the fallout of a global economic slump that triggered a balance of payments crisis and a slowdown in island will be the focus of a conference of Sri Lanka’s economists later this month.Sri Lanka Association of Economists (SLAE) will hold its 2009 annual session on September […]
Sri Lankan stocks down 0.06-pct
Aug 31, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed flat Monday as retail investors took profits from last week’s gains in the hotel sector, but placed bets on selected high value counters and midcap stocks, brokers said. Environmental Resource Investments normal shares closed at 42.75 rupees, up 3.25 with 1.19 million shares changing hands. Sri […]
Sri Lanka promotes investment with Thailand after war
Aug 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is promoting new joint ventures with Thailand after the end of a 30-year war in the island, organizers of an investment conference in Colombo that is opening Monday said. More than a 100 top Sri Lankan enterprises from private and public sectors will participate in the conference, Wickramanayaka […]
Sri Lankans ask whether the US is a socialist state
Aug 28, 2009 (LBO) – Sweeping ‘nationalization’ of collapsing banks, state mandated mortgage lending and centrally planned interest rates has made the USA a socialist state, Sri Lankan viewers of a film on the US economic collapse said.Paulson, the multitude of bankers and financial journalists repeatedly said in the film, had made ‘mistakes,’ in being […]
Sri Lanka columnist shortlisted for Bastiat online journalism prize
Aug 28, 2009 (LBO) – Rohan Samarajiva, who writes Lanka Business Online’s ‘Choices’ column has been shortlisted for the 2009 Bastiat Prize for online journalism along with two others who write for Britain’s Telegraph and US based Forbes. Samarajiva, who heads LirneAsia, a policy research body, has been writing LBO’s widely read ‘Choices’ column from […]
Sri Lankan stocks up 0.52-pct
Aug 28, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed up 0.5 percent Friday with banks and hotel sector shares driving gains, brokers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed up 0.52 percent (13.46 points) to close at 2,601.50 while the Milanka index of liquid stocks gained 1.0 percent (29.34 points) to close […]
Sri Lanka forex reserves at US$3.9bn with new IMF allocation
Aug 28, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s gross official reserves rose to 3.9 billion US dollars after receiving the equivalent of 475 million US dollar under a new allocation International Monetary Fund reserves, the Central Bank said. Sri Lanka’s reserves have now topped a 3.5 billion dollar peak reached in September 2008. In August 07, […]