After statements to the contrary by Governor over applicable interest rate and on which loan amount, monetary authority issues clarification For few days, the not so ‘whole truth’ was out in the market, but perhaps due to the Opposition’s fire and realising the blunder and implications, a better-late-than-never conspicuous correction termed “clarification” has finally...

BRUSSELS (Reuters): EU leaders will sign off on a permanent rescue fund for the euro zone at a summit on Monday and are expected to agree on a balanced budget rule in national legislation, with unresolved problems in Greece casting a shadow on the discussions. The summit – the 17th in two years as the ...

New research by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed a largely pessimistic outlook for the demand for trade finance products in 2012. Based upon inputs received from 337 financial institutions responding to a joint ICC-IMF survey

The Economic Investigation Team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) met Senior Minister of International Monetary Cooperation Dr. Sarath Amunugama yesterday at the Ministry of Finance and Planning. The discussion focused on loans granted by IMF and Sri Lanka’s economic development. Dr

With intensifying strains in the euro area weighing on the global outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has sharply cut its forecast for world growth this year, saying prospects have dimmed and risks to financial stability have increased. In an update to its World Economic Outlook (WEO

Reuters: Sri Lanka and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) meet this week amid a standoff over the Central Bank’s defence of the rupee currency, which has cost $ 2.6 billion in foreign exchange reserves since July – the same amount the global lender has pledged to loan. Bucking

Five years after the credit crisis began, Western economies are confronting the prospect of a lost decade of growth, and international diplomats are warning the damage could get even worse if Europe allows its sovereign debt crisis to fester much longer. International Monetary Fund chief Christine

Reuters: German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Sunday the crucial factor in negotiations over a debt-swap plan for Greece was that Athens should by 2020 have a sustainable level of borrowing. “This goal must be achieved,” he told German public broadcaster ARD. Chief negotiators for Greece’s private creditors left Athens on Saturday without a ...

BUDAPEST (Reuters): More than 100,000 people rallied on Saturday in a show of support for the embattled Hungarian government, as it prepares to compromise in a bitter row with the European Union to secure a vital loan. Labelled a “March of Peace” the demonstration was by far the largest rally since the government took power ...

MEXICO CITY (Reuters): Group of 20 nations agreed to push Europe to take extra steps to resolve the debt crisis on Friday as they inch toward a deal to boost the International Monetary Fund’s firepower. Mexico Deputy Finance Minister Gerardo Rodriguez said talks between G20 officials

Reuters: Greece and its private bondholders resume debt swap talks on Friday amid signs they are inching closer to a long-awaited deal needed to prevent a chaotic default by Athens. Cash-strapped Greece is fast running out of time as it pushes to wrap up an agreement by Monday paving the way for a fresh injection ...

 No country will be immune to any worsening of crisis: IMF’s Lipton Further action needed in euro zone: Osborne Mechanism to instil fiscal discipline crucial: HSBC HONG KONG (Reuters): Global leaders and businessmen urged Europe early this week to take fresh steps to resolve its deepening debt crisis, with a top executive of the IMF ...

Reuters: The International Monetary Fund is seeking to more than double its war chest by raising $600 billion in new resources to help countries deal with the fallout of the euro zone debt crisis, but the United States and other countries are throwing up roadblocks. The United States and Canada

Reuters: Greece goes head to head with its creditors on Wednesday in a renewed attempt to break a deadlock in negotiations to slash the country’s debt and stave off default. International private sector creditors represented by the Institute of International Finance IIF.L were set to meet the government in the afternoon. Talks broke down on ...

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday it would seek to raise up to $500 billion from members to bolster lending resources in the face of global financial strains. “Based on staff’s estimate of global potential financing needs of about $1 trillion in the coming

Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal has been increasingly under attack by UNP MP Dr. Harsha de Silva over some of the policies, actions and comments of the professional-turned-politician-turned-Chief of the monetary regulatory authority. Cabraal’s ambitious and robust Roadmap for 2012 and beyond too had come under critique as being overconfident. However, this is unlikely to ...

Reuters: Sri Lanka’s Central Bank will announce its January monetary policy rate decision today. The Central Bank is expected to keep its repurchase and reverse repurchase rates steady at 7 per cent and 8.50 per cent respectively, their lowest levels in more than seven years, for a 12th straight month, according to 12 out of ...

Tighter sanctions will push the Iranian government to make some tough decisions. The Islamic republic can find ways to deal with the pressures that the next round of sanctions will bring, but probably not without political fallout. A quarter of the country’s crude exports currently go to Europe, which has agreed in principle to a ...

Reuters: The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday it is ready to discuss any Sri Lankan request for a follow up programme to its current $ 2.6 billion loan programme, provided the country meets the Fund’s request for currency flexibility. The IMF has withheld the eighth tranche

Bloomberg: Sri Lanka is keen to complete its current program with the International Monetary Fund and expects a further tranche release after the next review, even as the island nation “is not pressed for foreign exchange,” Sarath Amunugama, Minister for International Monetary

Highly confident Central Bank outlines ambitious forecasts for 2012 and beyond 2011 GDP growth at record 8.3%; 2012 outlook revised to 8% from 9% previously Eyes over $ 25 b inflows in 2011 Low interest rates helped to reduce Govt. expenditure by Rs. 15.5 b CB profit transfers to Government over Rs. 46 b between ...

Singapore (Reuters): The roller-coaster ride for Asian currencies, which saw only the yen and yuan post significant gains for the year against the U.S. dollar, is set to continue in 2012. While Japan actively sought to stem the yen’s rise — drawing U.S. criticism last week — China intervened to ensure the yuan ended the ...

ABUJA(Reuters): Nigerian authorities announced on Sunday that a controversial plan to scrap fuel subsidies will be effective from Jan. 1, a move likely to lead to strikes and street protests. The plan is unpopular with Nigerians, many of whom see cheap fuel as the only benefit they get from living in Africa’s top crude oil ...

Aravinda Perera is the new Managing Director of Sampath Bank with effect from 1 January 2012. He brings with him a wealth of experience; his last post was as Deputy Managing Director. He will hold the reins when the bank celebrates 25 years since its inception in 1986. Perera is seeing in consolidation following a ...

DHAKA (Reuters): Bangladesh raised fuel prices with effect from Friday in its fourth such hike since May, a move that will trim the country’s subsidy burden but add to already high inflation. Petrol, 95-octane gasoline, diesel, kerosene and fuel oil will now cost an additional 5 taka ($0.06) a litre. The price of petrol has ...

Reuters: Sri Lanka needs flexible exchange rates and tighter monetary policy to curb cheap imports that are putting pressure on the country’s balance of payments, Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera said on Wednesday. Jayasundera, the most influential economic policy official serving President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Government, said the country can sustain its growth target if the weak .....

Portugal, which is re-emerging due to its economic reforms, will send high level business and industry delegations to Sri Lanka Expo 2012 and is keen on apparel synergies with Sri Lanka. Portugal is also keen on the energy, water and edible oil processing sectors here, announced Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen. Minister Bathiudeen ...

Yet again proving its resilience amidst global shocks and the recession in the West, the country’s economy in the third quarter has grown by 8.4%, a rate viewed by analysts as faster than expected. The high 8.4% growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was above the 8% achieved in the corresponding period of last year. ...

Reuters: Sri Lanka’s Central Bank can continue to maintain the rupee exchange by selling dollars from the foreign reserves as it expects large dollar inflows in the coming months, the Central Bank Governor said on Tuesday. The rupee was devalued three per cent on 22 November, a day after President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity ...

International Consultants Chairman Ranjiv Goonawardena had kindly invited the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau to participate by showcasing the great opportunity that Sri Lanka has to offer, at the Islamic Real Estate Finance (IREF) Summit and Gala Dinner Awards Ceremony of which it was a sponsor. International Consultants sponsored for the second year the ninth ...