Category: Other
Kuwait cuts loose from sinking dollar
KUWAIT CITY, May 20, 2007 (AFP) – Kuwait on Sunday pegged its dinar to a basket of international currencies after more than four years of linking the local currency to the dollar, in a bid to reduce inflationary pressures.The oil-rich emirate had historically pegged the dinar to a basket of currencies before pegging it to […]
China makes equity investments from forex reserves
BEIJING, May 21, 2007 (AFP) – A new Chinese investment company charged with handling the nation’s bulging reserves has agreed to invest three billion dollars in US private equity company Blackstone, the American company said.Analysts have suggested that the new agency would start slowly while it refines its daily operations and so as not to […]
At Last
May 21, 2007 (LBO) – Copies of Sri Lanka’s new Companies Act can now be downloaded from the Web and are available at the government publications bureau. A spokesman for the Registrar of Companies Department said the Companies Act No 7 of 2007, which came into affect on May 03, can be downloaded from their […]
Oil-rich Iran to ration petrol to get out of subsidy fiasco
TEHRAN, May 21, 2007 (AFP) – Oil-rich Iran is to delay a plan, scheduled to be implemented on Wednesday, to ration petrol and raise pump prices that is expected to have a profound impact on its economy, officials said.Iran has been unable to distribute sufficient rationing cards in time to consumers to execute the plan, […]
G11 admits two great sins; promise “fiscal prudence and sound monetary policies” in future
SHUNEH, Jordan, May 19, 2007 (AFP) – G11 developing countries agreed at a summit Saturday on a framework to push for cooperation with G8 industrialised nations to ease their debts and build prosperous economies.“Our two organisations have a vital shared goal, to strengthen prosperity and peace in the 21st century,” Jordan’s King Abdullah II told […]
Middle East WEF to promote peace, economic diversification
SHUNEH, Jordan, May 18, 2007 (AFP) – Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Friday opened a three-day Middle East World Economic Forum, urging political and business leaders to help end violence and prepare for the “day after peace.” Representatives of the G11 group of developing countries are also due to meet on the sidelines of the […]
Sri Lanka tea industry slams plan to hike export cess
May 18, 2007 (LBO) – The Colombo Tea Traders’ Association (CTTA) said Friday the industry was strongly opposed to government plans to increase the tea export cess.Funds could also be used for promoting Sri Lankan owned brands, stimulating value-added exports, facilitating food hygiene initiatives and supplementing research programmes.It also accused the government of violating the basic […]
Wolfowitz to resign as World Bank chief end-June
WASHINGTON, May 17, 2007 (AFP) – World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz bowed to weeks of pressure Thursday and agreed to step down June 30 to end a favoritism scandal that had rocked the poverty-fighting institution. Wolfowitz, 63, said he was resigning in the “best interests” of the bank, thus ending a scandal over a generous […]
Bonus Status
May 18, 2007 (LBO) – Colombo Stock Exchange has withdrawn the approval for bonus issues of some companies, and asked twelve firms to submit fresh applications after checking compliance with a new company law, in a circular issued to brokers and listed firms. The new company law came into effect on May 03. CSE said […]
‘s black gold
May 17, 2007 (LBO) – The United States supports Sri Lanka in its effort to develop off shore oil exploration, the country’s ambassadore in Colombo said.“I invited all the countries to explore Sri Lanka’s off shore oil opportunities in the recent Offshore Technology Conference in Houston,” said the US ambassador for Sri Lanka Robert Blake. Offshore […]
Wolfowitz support wanes as World Bank mulls his fate
WASHINGTON, May 16, 2007 (AFP) – World Bank directors were to continue talks Thursday on the fate of Paul Wolfowitz, amid reports the embattled president is negotiating an exit deal in which the bank would take some blame for the controversial pay raise he negotiated for his girlfriend. Pressure to end the controversy increased as […]
World Bank board to continue Wolfowitz debate Wedneday
WASHINGTON, May 15, 2007 (AFP) – World Bank executive directors said late Tuesday they would continue deliberations about the fate of the embattled bank president, Paul Wolfowitz. In a terse, two-sentence statement, the board said it had met Tuesday to discuss a report by an investigatory bank panel that concluded Wolfowitz had broken rules in […]