Category: Economy and Markets
US in recession since December 2007: official panel
WASHINGTON, December 2, 2008 (AFP) – A US recession began in December 2007, a panel of economists charged with the official designation of business cycles said Monday.But the gross domestic product (GDP) data may have been skewed by tax rebates that stimulated consumer spending, according to analysts. The NBER said “we do not identify economic […]
Sri Lanka monsoon floods affect 370,000: UN
GENEVA, December 2, 2008 (AFP) – Monsoon floods in the north of Sri Lanka have affected more than 370,000 people, with 71,000 being displaced, the United Nations said Tuesday.Tamil Tiger guerrillas, who began their struggle for a separate Tamil homeland in 1972, are currently facing the Sri Lankan army’s biggest ever offensive in the north.“The […]
Sri Lanka shares weaken, trading slumps to 4-year low
Dec 02, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares weakened Tuesday with trading drying up and turnover slumping to a low of 33 million rupees, the lowest for four years, dealers said.Sri Lankan shares have been on a long slide owing to a slowing economy and poor company earnings amidst high inflation and interest rates. On […]
Sri Lanka shares resume slide, Ceylinco Insurance boosts trading volumes
Dec 01, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares resumed their downward march Monday after two days of marginal gains last week, with a large transaction in Ceylinco Insurance propping up trading volumes, brokers said.Corporate earnings in the last quarter are down while the crash in commodity prices and high inflation and interest rates are seen […]
Sri Lanka EPF under fire at 50 years, calls for independent management
Nov 30, 2008 (LBO) – Calls for independent management for Sri Lanka’s state-managed Employees Provident Fund are gaining more support, with less than half of respondents to a survey saying returns were “reasonable”, an influential weekly has said.Fifty years after the creation of EPF The Sunday Times newspaper said only 45.95 percent of respondents to […]
Sri Lanka should stop intervention before it is too late: economist
Nov 29, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should stop a self-destructive sterilized intervention cycle of the national currency and move to stabilize the economy, to prevent an even more dramatic fall of the currency, an economist has said. Kamikaze Before mid-September when the central bank started a sterilized intervention cycle and started putting pressure on […]
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 […]
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 […]
Sri Lanka shares rise marginally, Distilleries boosts trading volumes
Nov 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan share prices ended slightly firmer Friday, with volumes pushed higher by large trades in Distilleries Company but concerns over company earnings still weighing on the market, brokers said. Tissera said the large transactions in Distilleries Company accounted for the bulk of the day’s trading volumes. Over 11.2 million […]
Sri Lanka shares rise, gains seen short-lived
Nov 27, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan share prices rose Thursday, breaking a long slide but brokers said the gains could be short-lived given the negative investor sentiment, poor company earnings outlook as well as rupee devaluation fears. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 The […]
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 […]