Category: Other
US backing makes help French candidate for IMF chief
WASHINGTON, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) – Now backed by the United States, the socialist former French finance minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn is set to sail to victory next week in the race to become the International Monetary Fund managing director. The United States weighed into the two-man contest on Wednesday, one day ahead of Strauss-Kahn’s interview […]
Sri Lanka tea firms brace for new wage demand
Sept 19 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s plantations companies face another crippling wage hike less than a year after giving one as politically powerful labour unions pressurize the government which needs their support to pass the forthcoming budget in parliament. Stock market analysts said another wage increase would increase pressure on listed regional plantations companies (RPCs), […]
Peru meteorite strike leaves 200 ill
LIMA, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) – About 200 villagers have fallen ill from mysterious gases that spewed from a crater after a meteorite crashed in southeastern Peru, but no radiation has been detected, officials and scientists said Tuesday. Scores of residents of the farming village of Carancas began vomiting and complaining of headaches and dizziness […]
Northern Rock set to return to normal as crisis subsides
LONDON, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) – Northern Rock customers finally appeared confident that they could leave their savings with the crisis-hit lender, with few, if any, expected to queue outside branches on Wednesday. Government pledges to protect the savings of the bank’s account-holders quelled the panic triggered by news that Northern Rock asked the Bank […]
Charges against Goldquest directors dropped
Sept 19, 2007 (LBO) – Prosecutors in the Philippines have dropped charges against Goldquest directors involved in an alleged investment scam, media reports from the country said. It later enacted anti-pyramiding legislation that outlawed multi-level marketing recruitment schemes. Bayani Vargas, Presiding Judge of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, has dropped a criminal charge against […]
World oil price tops 81 dollars
SINGAPORE, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) – Oil prices topped 81 dollars a barrel for the first time on Tuesday, setting another record high amid fears of critically tight supplies for the winter season in the United States.OPEC’s announcement last week that it would pump an extra 500,000 barrels per day from November has failed to […]
Sri Lanka tea broker warns against unethical practices
Sept 18 (LBO) – A top tea broker has warned the industry not to take short cuts to get high prices at the Colombo auctions and instead to play strictly by the rules. “It is not advisable to turn a blind eye or encourage the achievement of prices by hook or by crook and instead […]
World Bank, UN join battle to claw back corrupt leaders spoils
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 17, 2007 (AFP) – The World Bank and United Nations on Monday threw their backing behind developing nations seeking to recover assets pilfered by corrupt leaders, unveiling a scheme to lend muscle to their claims. “There should be no safe haven for those who steal from the poor,” World Bank chief Robert […]
Wall Street drops as anxiety high ahead of Fed meet
NEW YORK, Sept 17, 2007 (AFP) – Wall Street stocks fell Monday as anxiety ran high a day ahead of a crucial Federal Reserve meeting to decide the course of US interest rates. Shares in the Nasdaq Stock Market fell 1.43 percent to 34.41 on reports it was close to a deal to sell its […]
China to buy 3,400 new airplanes by 2026: Boeing
BEIJING, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) – China, the world’s fastest growing aviation market, will need 3,400 new airplanes worth about 340 billion dollars over the next 20 years, US aircraft maker Boeing said Tuesday.The forecast marks a dramatic increase from an earlier prediction by Boeing of 2,900 aircraft in the period from 2005 to 2025. […]
China web-user dies after three-day online binge
BEIJING, Sept 17, 2007 (AFP) – A man in southern China collapsed and died after a three-day marathon online session at a cybercafe, state media reported on Monday.The web-user, estimated to be 30 years old, suddenly collapsed in front of his computer terminal in Guangdong province, and emergency personnel were unable to revive him, the […]
Money printing Zimbabwe eyes remaining foreign assets
HARARE, Sept 17, 2007 (AFP) – Planned legislation that would place the majority share of all listed firms in the hands of indigenous blacks will lead to a fall in foreign investment and worsen Zimbabwe’s economic woes, business leaders warned Monday. Members of a parliamentary committee that is currently debating the controversial Indigenisation and Economic […]