Category: Other
Shell profits gush on record high oil prices
LONDON, July 31, 2008 (AFP) – Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday that high oil prices helped push its net profit up by a third to 11.556 billion dollars (7.409 billion euros) in the second quarter. Profits rocketed despite flagging production which was hampered by violence at facilities in Nigeria. Output fell […]
Los Angeles passes ban on new fast-food outlets
LOS ANGELES, July 30, 2008 (AFP) – Los Angeles officials on Tuesday approved a one-year ban on fast-food chains opening in a poor neighborhood of the city battling higher-than-average obesity, officials said.The moratorium covers the 500,000 people living in the 32-square mile area of South Los Angeles, which is predominantly Hispanic and African-American. Designed to […]
Widespread lament over collapse of WTO talks
WASHINGTON, July 30, 2008 (AFP) – Government and business leaders lamented the failure to reach a global trade pact in Geneva on Tuesday, with a leading US business group blaming China and India for the collapse of the talks.Argentina however blamed wealthy nations for failing to provide enough concrete benefits for developing countries. The breakdown […]
Oil prices fall sharply as dollar strengthens
LONDON, July 29, 2008 (AFP) – Oil prices fell heavily on Tuesday as traders reacted to the stronger dollar, erasing earlier gains seen after energy giant Royal Dutch Shell suspended some of its crude deliveries from Nigeria. OPEC President Chakib Khelil described crude prices above 120 dollars a barrel as “abnormal,” adding that they could […]
”: Norway
OSLO, July 30, 2008 (AFP) – The breakdown of the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations signals a “new world order” in which the West can no longer unilaterally impose its will on the rest of the world, Norway’s foreign minister said Wednesday.“I may have been present as the world order crumbled.But at the same time, […]
Japan foreign minister puts off South Asia trip
TOKYO, July 30, 2008 (AFP) – Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura has put off a visit to South Asia starting this weekend due to political uncertainties at home, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. Japan was arranging for Komura to visit India, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan from Friday until August 8, said a foreign ministry official, […]
Dismayed powers plea for salvage effort after wrecked WTO talks
GENEVA, July 30, 2008 (AFP) – World trading powers appealed on Wednesday for efforts to salvage WTO proposals amid regret and emotion at the collapse of nine-day marathon talks, and warnings that the poorest countries will suffer.“I would only urge the Director-General (of the WTO) to treat this as a pause, not a breakdown, to […]
Fed extends emergency lending to investment firms
WASHINGTON, July 30, 2008 (AFP) – The Federal Reserve on Wednesday extended its emergency lending program to January 2009 for investment firms aimed at keeping credit flowing in the financial system.The Fed said it took the action “in light of continued fragile circumstances in financial markets” along with other steps to ease a global credit […]
Sri Lanka tea prices hit by collection fears
July 30, 2008 (LBO) – Prices of Sri Lankan low grown leafy grade teas fell sharply at this week’s Colombo auctions owing to fears that buyers may not be able to collect their purchases.Tea prices have been buoyed by good demand from traditional buyers like Russia and the Middle East oil exporting countries where consumers […]
” despite policy conflicts
July 30, 2008 (LBO) – A summit meeting of South Asian leaders this weekend is placing ‘food security’ high on its agenda with promises of more state intervention, officials said, despite recent state meddling that backfired on the region’s poor and farmers.Sri Lanka’s international trade minister G L Peiris told reporters that the time has […]
WTO talks enter tense endgame: officials
GENEVA, July 28, 2008 (AFP) – Talks to forge a new global trade pact teetered on the brink of collapse Tuesday as the World Trade Organization said the mood was “very tense” and major powers blamed each other for the deadlock.“The situation is very tense, things are finely balanced and the outcome is by no […]
‘s central bank hikes policy rate to 9.0-pct
MUMBAI, July 29, 2008 (AFP) – India’s central bank Tuesday raised its key short-term lending rate by half-a-percentage point in an aggressive bid to tame inflation riding at a 13-year high, pushing shares down sharply. Indian shares slumped 3.6 percent after the bank announced the hike in the repo rate, at which commercial banks borrow […]