Category: Other
India lays out five-year roadmap to freer rupee convertibility
NEW DELHI, Sept 2, 2006 (AFP) – India should make the rupee more freely convertible over the next five years to realise the country’s “maximum” economic potential, a central bank committee has urged. Such a move to loosen curbs on trading the rupee against other currencies would rank as one of India’s biggest economic reforms. […]
James Finlays sees export revenues fall on low value added tea sales
September 01, 2006 (LBO) – James Finalys & Company says its export revenues fell for the six months to June as the firm shipped more low value added bulk tea to overseas buyers. Finlays, one of Sri Lanka’s top tea exporters, also felt the pinch of rising prices at weekly tea auctions, as its island’s key […]
IMF board agrees to give bigger say to developing countries
TOKYO, Sept 1, 2006 (AFP) – The IMF executive board has agreed to far-reaching reform of the institution to give more influence to dynamic developing economies including China, managing director Rodrigo Rato said.Under the plan, China, South Korea, Turkey and Mexico will all see immediate increases in their fund quotas to reflect the shifting balance […]
Indian TV viewers to pay 11 cents a channel each month
NEW DELHI, Sept 1, 2006 (AFP) – Millions of Indian television viewers will pay a maximum five rupees (11 cents) a month for each pay channel under a new system to take effect by the end of the year, the telecommunications regulator said. The introduction of the conditional access system or CAS will mark a […]
Saving Pluto: The fightback begins
PARIS, Sept 1, 2006 (AFP) – Only a week after Pluto was stripped of its status as a full-fledged planet of the Solar System, rebel astronomers have launched a campaign to have it restored in pomp and glory.A petition already signed by more than 300 professional researchers is attacking the International Astronomical Union (IAU) decision […]
India to increase tea imports as production hit
GUWAHATI, India, Sept 1, 2006 (AFP) – India, the world’s largest tea producer, will boost tea imports to cover growing domestic demand despite an expected production shortfall blamed on a heat wave, officials said Friday. This year, the country is likely to increase tea imports to 25 million kilograms (55 million pounds) from last year’s […]
‘s tea crop falters in July
August 31, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea output dipped 5.7 percent for the seven months to July but earned 50.89 million rupees by shipping the brew to overseas buyers over the same period last year, a commodity broker said. Production of Kenya’s largest export crept up 2.9 million kilos to 23.7 million kilos in […]
Ford wants to sell Aston Martin
DEARBORN, Michigan, Aug 31, 2006 (AFP) – Troubled US auto giant Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it was looking to sell its British sports marque Aston Martin. Chief executive Bill Ford said that as part of its strategic review, the US company had decided that Aston Martin “may be an attractive opportunity to raise capital […]
Feeling peckish? British council bans biscuits to beat the birds
LONDON, Aug 30, 2006 (AFP) – They are an integral part of British tea-time, but councillors in one city are having to forgo biscuits with their daily cuppa to deal with the growing problem of aggressive seagulls.Bristol City Council in the west of England has calculated it could save 25,000 pounds (37,000 euros, 47,500 dollars) […]
Asian workers missing out on stellar growth: ILO
BUSAN, South Korea, Aug 29, 2006 (AFP) – Asian workers are missing out on the region’s stellar growth, facing longer hours and lower pay than elsewhere and this imbalance has to be addressed, the UN Labor agency said Tuesday.International Labor Organization (ILO) Director General Juan Somavia told a regional meeting here that the gains of […]
” over global warming
KUMAMOTO, Japan, Aug 27, 2006 (AFP) – A Japanese bank is doing its bit to raise interest over global warming, in more ways than one. The Kumamoto Family Bank on the southern island of Kyushu has taken eco-consciousness to a new level by basing its interest rate on the average temperature, giving customers a reason […]
WSJ to team up with new Indian business newspaper
NEW DELHI, Aug 25, 2006 (AFP) – The Wall Street Journal said Friday some of its pages will appear in a business newspaper soon to be launched in India by the country’s second-largest print media company, HT Media.HT Media Ltd earlier this year announced plans to launch a national business newspaper aimed at “global Indian […]