Reuters: Greece claimed a major success for its bond swap offer to private creditors on Friday after it won heavy acceptance for a deal that averts the immediate risk of an uncontrolled default on its massive public debt.  The finance ministry said 85.8 percent of its 177 billion euros in bonds regulated under Greek law ...

Benito Mussolini, the fascist ruler of Italy, during World War II, said that his brand of fascism ‘should be more appropriately called Corporatism, because it is a merger of state and corporate power’. Compare this with the dictionary definition of capitalism: ‘A system in which a country’s business and industry are controlled and run for ...

Subsidies? Well yes, but make them smart subsidiesNigeria: Subsidising the neighbours Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamidi Sanusi, had a problem. In a recent live interview with the Aljazeera TV, he said that his country had to raise the retail prices of all petroleum products to match the rising international prices, despite the violent and ...

Reuters: On a recent Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight, water flowed from the toilets through the aisles during the entire journey from London to Islamabad. "What if it reaches some electrical wires and puts us in danger?" said one concerned passenger to another after flight attendants brushed off repeated complaints. "This could be a catastrophe." ...

Sri Lanka’s benchmark stock index, the world’s worst performer this year, may extend its slump as the central bank raises interest rates to curb inflation, according to HSBC Holdings Plc’s private banking unit. HSBC Private Bank, which oversees about $499 billion, will wait for stock valuations to fall to “single digit” multiples before it considers ...

Iran’s parliament said on Tuesday it was ready to impose a ban on oil exports to some European states, the country’s English-language Press TV reported.   “In retaliation to the Zionist (Israel)-backed measure of the European countries to ban Iran oil, we are ready to impose a ban on oil exports to some European countries,” ...

“It is unlikely that in making his overstatement on development that the President was seeking to downplay the achievements of the past by his illustrious predecessors in the governance of the country. In the 1950s there was the Gal Oya development scheme that opened up the vast territories of thick jungle land in the east ...

Reuters: India cut cash reserve requirements for banks by 50 basis points on Tuesday to ease tight liquidity conditions, signalling a shift in policy towards reviving growth after two years of fighting inflation. With core inflation still stubbornly high, the Reserve Bank of India as expected left its policy repo rate unchanged at 8.50 percent ...

Rotating Savings and Credit Associations and the Finance Business Act No. 42 of 2011Cheetu or Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (RoSCAs) are the world over a well-recognised method of savings and capital accumulation for the poor and marginalised. Advocate E.B. Wikramanayake B.A., in his Legal Dictionary for Ceylon (1948 Edition) describes a cheetu club as ...

Sampath Bank with effect from 1 January has got a new Chairman and several new youthful additions to its Board of Directors. The Bank announced on Friday that at a Board of Directors meeting held on 29 December Chairman I.W. Senanayake decided to step down with effect from 31 December. Whilst accepting this decision the ...

By Dinali Goonewardene Prathilaba was telecast on Rupavahini on Sundays at 10 a.m. The TV documentary, a studio discussion on investing in the stock market was commissioned by the Securities and Exchange Commission and panellists from the stock market industry participated. These included stock brokers, research analysts, fund managers and officials from the Colombo Stock ...

Arrenga Capital Research takes a deeper look at Budget 2012 and impact on select listed companies 1. A challenging deficit target – 6.2% of GDP in 2012 I. Government revenue targeted to grow by 20.2% YoY to Rs. 1,126.1 b (14.7% of GDP) II. Total Government expenditure to rise 14.1% YoY to Rs. 1,594.9 b ...

By Chamitha Kuruppu The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna claims spending Rs. 265 billion on an 11-day extravaganza is intolerable for an economically ailing country like Sri Lanka. Addressing a media briefing the JVP warned that the aftermath of hosting the 2018 Commonwealth Games would not be rosy as the Rajapaksa administration predicts According to JVP Propaganda ...

Reuters: Residents fled Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, on Thursday after authorities warned the city would soon be flooded and called a special five-day holiday to let people escape. Traffic in central Bangkok was light as the holiday began but a main road out of the city to the flood-free south was jammed. Many people were heading ...

The courage the Government has demonstrated in cancelling the CATIC deal and yet feeling secure, rather than embarrassed by it, must be recognised. It is a responsible step, a prudent decision, which will have enduring benefit both in terms of national policy and FDI strategy. This step will also earn the respect of the indigenous ...

Reuters) – European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said the European Union’s treaty should be changed to prevent one member state from destabilising the rest of the bloc, and urged stronger governance of the euro zone. “In my view it is necessary to change the treaty to prevent one member state from straying and creating ...

Reuters: Rahul Gandhi, heir to the family dynasty that has dominated politics in the world’s biggest democracy for generations, was trying to make himself heard in the uproar of Parliament. Looking nervous, he read haltingly from a prepared statement, criticising as “anti-democratic” a popular anti-corruption campaign led by activist Anna Hazare, whose hunger strike was ...

Reuters) – China’s trade surplus fell sharply in August as exports pulled back from a record high and imports jumped, indicating the world’s second-largest economy is feeling the pinch from weaker global growth while domestic demand remains resilient. China’s exports rose

JACKSON HOLE: Central bankers gathered at an annual retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, this weekend had a message for political leaders: monetary policy alone can’t keep the global expansion going. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke urged adoption of “good, proactive housing policies” to reverse the depressed US real estate market and warned lawmakers to ...

The Economist Intelligence Unit: Asia's consumers are demanding and difficult to please. But they are getting richer, and they might help to save the world from a protracted recession, as well as bring about a long-overdue economic rebalancing. For Western multinationals, Asian consumer markets offer exciting growth opportunities. Despite the challenges of reaching Asian consumers ...

Banks’ Profits Up 111% The banking industry achieved a considerably high level of profits in 2010. Profit after tax amounted to Rs. 57.5 billion last year, a 111% growth in comparison to a Rs. 27.2 billion profit in 2009. The significant growth in profitability was mainly attributed to a higher increase in fee-based income, a ...

by Darini Rajasingham Senanayake On 4 February, Sri Lanka celebrated its 63rd birthday. After nearly three decades of armed conflict, it is now one of Southasia’s calmest and fastest-growing countries. Its social indicators, apart from the northeast zone, remain the...

By Malathi De Alwis On 18 May 2009, Sri Lanka officially declared the end of a 30-year civil war fought between. Sri Lankan government forces (GoSL) and Tamil militants, namely the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE). Such a sea...

By Dr.Harsha de Silva Mr. Speaker, I am glad that important Ministers and Members from the Government side have come to listen to this speech. I must first state that I am happy to have been able to join the...

by Ranil Wickremesinghe By the 4th century BC, Asia had begun its first cycle of economic growth and power. This was the reason why Alexander the Great decided to travel eastward to establish an empire. At that time there was...

by Dr.Rohan Gunaratne It is my distinct privilege to deliver the 13th Deshamanya Professor Nandadasa Kodagoda Oration this evening. Professor Kodagoda was an intellectual giant of our times. Born in Ahangama in the Galle District in 1929, he was educated...

by Pearl Thevanayagam The recently concluded war with all its human miseries such as loss of lives, widowhood, displaced and maimed civilians, orphans, destruction of properties and denigration of agricultural lands and the disruption to normal life throughout the island...