Category: Other
Sri Lanka busts fertilizer subsidy budget in five months
July 14, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has spent almost a year’s allocation for a populist fertilizer subsidy in just five months, the finance ministry said in a report, indicating that more than 30 billion rupees would be needed to maintain it till the year end. Policy Stampede In recent years policy makers and senior […]
Sri Lanka food firm and IFC to push dairy farmers up the value chain
July 14, 2008 (LBO) – The foods division of Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings (JKH) has tied up with dairy farmer co-operatives to set up facilities to add value to raw milk, in a move which is backed by the World Bank’s private sector arm, the company said. Gilles Galludec, IFC Country Manager for Maldives […]
Emirates chief slams British, EU aviation policies
LONDON, July 14, 2008 (AFP) – The president of Emirates airline on Monday criticised the policies being imposed by Britain and the European Union on airlines that he said were stifling moves towards greater efficiency.In a comment piece in the Financial Times, Tim Clark wrote that the aviation industry was going through “the greatest crisis” […]
US Treasury unveils support for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
WASHINGTON, July 14, 2008 (AFP) – Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson unveiled measures Sunday to bolster key US housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were given Federal Reserve oversight and bigger credit lines.Paulson said the “central role” the two play in real estate financing meant they should continue to respond to shareholders, and […]
Computer headset lets brain control action
SAN FRANCISCO, July 13, 2008 (AFP) – It’s mind over machine: a US high-tech company has created a headset allowing computer game lovers to use their thoughts to move mountains and make objects disappear on screen.Emotiv, a San Francisco-based startup that marries neuroscience and computer engineering, says its EPOC gaming headset offers only a glimpse […]
Asia sets stage for disaster relief exercise with key powers
WASHINGTON, July 13, 2008 (AFP) – After much debate, Asia is finally expected to agree to hold its first civilian-military disaster relief exercise with key powers such as the United States, Russia and the European Union.It will set the stage for real emergency response to disasters, such as the recent cyclone that ravaged Myanmar and […]
Cambodian garment workers worry about future prospects
PHNOM PENH, July 13, 2008 (AFP) – Sath Vanny sits anxiously at the door to her tiny one-room hut in the factory district of Cambodia’s capital.She left her hometown in the southern province of Takeo seven years ago to work at a women’s shirt factory, sending most of her earnings back to help the family […]
Battle Values
July 13, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Stassen group controlled by tycoon Harry Jayewardene had been valued at over 24 billion rupees (228 million US dollars) by his partners who are in courts to force a buyout of their interests, a media report said. The Sunday Island newspaper said V P Vittachchi, R K Obeysekera […]
IndyMac bank seized by US amid intensifying crisis
LOS ANGELES, July 12, 2008 (AFP) – Federally-seized IndyMac Bank was due to reopen Monday after suffering one of the biggest bank closures in US history, as the troubled US mortgage industry struggles to stem further meltdown.The regulatory Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) announced Friday it had placed the California-based bank, worth an estimated 32 […]
Oil prices top 147 dollars per barrel
NEW YORK, July 11, 2008 (AFP) – Oil prices rocketed to records above 147 dollars on Friday as traders seized on the weak US currency, simmering tensions over crude producers Iran and Nigeria and news of a looming strike in Brazil.New York’s main oil contract, light sweet crude for August, hit a historic peak of […]
” tree
July 11, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan plantations owned by the James Finlay group intend to plant rubber in a big way as part of its diversification strategy, a senior company official said.“We aim to plant rubber wherever possible. It is our number one priority,” said James Sandom, group general manager of Finlay Tea Estates. […]
Beijing skyline rises faster, higher, stronger
BEIJING, July 12, 2008 (AFP) – As the waves of tourists converge on Beijing over the next month for the Olympics, they will look up to see a stunning new skyline that China’s leaders hope will showcase the nation as a modern world power. Thirty years ago the city was a poverty-stricken backwater studded by […]