Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka stocks close lower, Janashakthi Insurance fall below issue price
July 21, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares ended lower Monday dragged down by falls in heavyweight stocks while Janashakthi Insurance Company ended below its issue price on its debut after briefly trading higher.The All Share Price Index fell 1.32 percent (31.81 points) to 2,380.57 while the Milanka fell 1.33 percent (38.23 points) to 2,843.68. […]
Sri Lanka Janashakthi Insurance starts trading
July 21, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Janashakthi Insurance began trading at the Colombo bourse Monday at 13.50 rupees, above its issue price of 12.00, dealers said. Property rich Association Electrical was up 50 rupees to 1,200, The Finance was down 1.00 rupee at 49.00 rupees, John Keells Holdings up 25 cents at 104.75 in […]
Sri Lanka clamps down on duty free import of white goods
July 19, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will ban the duty-free import of a range of white goods now allowed to be brought into the country by returning citizens that worked abroad, a senior revenue official said.Sri Lanka Customs would not allow any type of air conditioners, deep freezers or dishwashers and fully automatic washing […]
Sri Lanka gets more World Bank money for roads
July 18, 2008 (LBO) – The World Bank is giving 98 million US dollars in additional financing for road re-building in Sri Lanka amid soaring costs of oil based materials, the multilateral lender said. “The project has made good overall progress,” says World Bank infrastructure specialist Amali Rajapaksa. “Importantly, it has played a pivotal role […]
Sri Lanka trade deficit up on oil imports, slow industrial exports
July 18, 2008 LBO) – Sri Lanka’s trade gap had expanded 79 percent to 2.5 billion US dollars in the five months to May 2008 on higher imports of oil while industrial exports slowed, government data showed. The Central Bank said 58 percent of the increase in imports came from oil and 21 percent from […]
Sri Lanka not ready to sign trade pact with India: officials
July 18, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is not ready to sign a trade pact with India, senior officials said as protests mounted from domestic business interests and a partner of the ruling coalition.Local business interests that fear Indian competition also spoke out against the deal. They said the government should first ensure that true […]
Sri Lanka tightens monetary target for 2008
July 16, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has tightened its year-end growth target for the monetary base in 2008 to 11.75 percent from 12.50 percent, the island’s central bank, which is running a quantity targeting framework to counter inflation, said.In April 2008 the bank tightened targets further from its beginning-of-the year plan, after inflation spiked […]
US consumer prices jump 1.1 pct in June
WASHINGTON, July 16, 2008 (AFP) – US consumer prices soared at the strongest pace in 26 years in June, rising 1.1 percent from May, the Labor Department said Wednesday. On a 12-month basis, CPI was up 5.0 percent in June and core CPI was 2.4 percent higher. Core prices excluding energy and food climbed 0.3 […]
Bunning slams Bernanke as US inflation surges to 26-year high
July 16, 2008 (LBO) – US consumer prices hit a 26-year as Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke came under renewed fire from a US senator for printing money willy-nilly and stampeding the world into an inflation crisis. The US Bureau of Labour Statistics said 12-month consumer prices of urban consumers surged to 5.0 percent in […]
Sri Lankan shares close down
July 16, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed one percent lower Wednesday on losses in telco stocks and the John Keells Holdings conglomerate as sentiment remained weak, brokers said.The All Share Price Index closed down 25.08 points at 2,415.07 while the Milanka lost 1.85 percent (54.43 points) to close at 2,881.86. Turnover was 200 […]
‘s Dhammika Perera sells Lanka Ceramic stake to Ceylon Theatres
July 15, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan businessman Dhammika Perera sold his 26 percent stake in Lanka Ceramics to its parent firm Ceylon Theatres towards the end of trading on the Colombo bourse Tuesday. “We sold at 47 rupees a share. It was bought by the Ceylon Theatres group,” said Nimal Perera, Dhammika Perera’s investment […]
Iran tops Sri Lanka donors up to May 2008, displacing Japan
July 14, 2008 (LBO) – Iran emerged as the biggest lender to Sri Lanka, displacing traditional top donors Japan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in the five months up to May 2008, aid commitments disclosed by the finance ministry show. Germany, which had earlier said it was cutting off aid to the island owing […]