No unanimity on exchange rate movement A front page headline news item in this paper on last Saturday had reported on an apparent division of opinion between the two top policy makers of the country, namely the Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera and the Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, on the depreciation of the ...

Reuters: France and Germany agreed on Thursday to stop arguing in public over whether the European Central Bank should do more to rescue the euro zone from a deepening sovereign debt crisis. President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chancellor Angela Merkel said after talks with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti that they trusted the independent central bank ...

Economy minister advises against buying foreign cash, gold Dollar rush pushes forex price 23 pct above official rate Struggling to control rate, cen bank names new forex head TEHRAN (Reuters): The Iranian government has asked its citizens not to buy dollars, in an effort to stem a rush for hard currency that has sent the ...

The Colombo stock market plunged further yesterday prolonging the misery as panic selling picked up heightening investor fears. The market saw Rs. 25 billion in value wiped off bringing the total to over Rs. 150 billion since 3rd November. Reinforcing market’s pulse, Reuters said mainly due to negative sentiment created by an expropriation bill amid ...

Confidence, the most critical element of the business climate Need of the hour Investment needs to increase from 28% (2010) to 34% of GDP to attain the Government’s growth target of 8%, as Sri Lanka’s incremental capital output ratio is 4.2. Public investment has been capped at 6%-7% of GDP. This means that private investment, ...

Following is the address delivered by Senior Minister for International Monetary Cooperation Dr. Sarath Amunugama at the fourth South Asia Economic Summit (SAES IV) Plenary Session: In the aftermath of the global economic crisis, there has been a noticeable shift in economic clout, moving from the USA and the debt-plagued countries of the Eurozone, to ...

Reuters: Asian shares fell and commodities slipped as the dollar spiked to a three-month high against the yen following Japan’s intervention, prompting investors to book profits after last week’s rally. The dollar rose more than 4 percent against the yen to above 79 yen, hours after briefly falling to a record low of 75.31 yen ...

Reuters: The head of Europe’s bailout fund said on Friday he does not expect to reach a conclusive deal with Chinese leaders during a visit to Beijing but expects the surplus-rich country to continue buying bonds issued by the fund. Klaus Regling, chief executive of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), said the bailout deal ...

Qatar’s economic growth is expected to drop sharply to 5.1 percent in 2012, down from a projected 15 percent for this year due to receding hydrocarbon expansion, the Gulf state’s development planning authority GSDP said on Tuesday. “The GSDP foresees a sea change in the economy’s dynamics in 2012,” the General Secretariat for Development Planning ...

Sri Lanka Economic Association Conference – Key takes at the inauguration By Dinali Goonewardene The Government in addition to domestic constraints faces a series of external and global constraints and the Sri Lanka Economic Association at its annual sessions from 13-14 October 2011 discussed this under the theme ‘Achieving National Economic Goals Amidst Global Challenges’. ...

In the midst of the turmoil in international financial markets and national economies, Sovereign Wealth Funds are coming into closer focus. For the first time since the breakout of the financial crisis, the financial mandarins of China intervened to shore up confidence in the country’s four largest banks by increasing its holdings in them through ...

BANGKOK (Reuters): More districts of Thailand’s capital were on high alert on Monday with floods bearing down from northern Bangkok as authorities raced to pump water toward the sea and defend the business district. Hundreds of people were evacuated over the weekend as water in residential areas of the northern Lak Si and Don Muang ...

BEIJING (Reuters): China urged the European Union on Monday to deal with its debt crisis as soon as possible and prevent contagion from spreading, as the country’s number four-ranked leader arrived for a visit of the continent, including Greece. “We hope that the EU countries concerned will reach a comprehensive settlement plan as soon as ...

Professionals are shy to raise critical issues in public!It is believed that the single focus advocacy proposal of the Joint Chambers of Commerce and Industry for the Budget 2012 to address is the continuing high priority of enhancing the ‘ease of doing business in Sri Lanka’. A president of a chamber holds a publicly articulated ...

Reuters: Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways is in talks with Britain’s Virgin Atlantic to join the UK carrier in its bid for bmi, the loss-making unit of Lufthansa, two sources familiar with the matter said on Monday. The fast-growing Middle East carrier is also discussing a possible stake in Virgin Atlantic, said one source. The Financial ...

ROME (AFP): Protesters torched cars and smashed up banks in Rome on Saturday while clashes erupted in New York’s Times Square on a day of worldwide demonstrations against corporate greed and government cutbacks. Tens of thousands took to the streets of the Italian capital for a march that turned violent and equal numbers rallied in ...

Reuters: More than 100 million rural Chinese people will settle in towns and cities in the next decade, testing provision of welfare and services as a new generation of migrants turn their backs on farming, according to a new government report. The National Population and Family Planning Commission report forecast that by 2020, China’s urban ...

The world’s economies are competing for investment, in order that they create jobs for their citizens and trade effectively in goods and services in this globalised world economy. Barriers and restrictions are tumbling down as nation states compete against each other, to become attractive to investors.Competitiveness is a comparative concept of the ability of a ...

The misery continues at the Colombo stock market as its year to date return yesterday dipped below the 1% threshold once again, a level last witnessed in mid July. A 0.4% dip in All Share Index saw the year to date dip from Wednesday’s 1.06% to 0.63% yesterday. On 19 July  the Bourse was recording ...

BEIJING (Reuters): China should refrain from boosting credit and fiscal spending again as stimulus measures to avoid fueling inflation and pushing up government debt, Wu Xiaoling, a former deputy central bank governor said in remarks published on Monday. “Currently, China’s economy faces inflationary pressures as well as pressures on government debt, which means we ...

 (Reuters) – Argentina’s government plans to use foreign currency reserves again next year to pay off a portion of its debt, Pagina 12 newspaper reported on Friday, citing Deputy Economy Minister Roberto Feletti. The government submitted its 2012 budget bill to Congress late on Thursday but journalists had no access to the text. The bill was expected ...

Solar, wind, wave, geo thermal, bio massNorochcholai – underperforming, Kerawalapitiya – under maintenance, power utility – threatens strike, Sampur at Trincomalee – coal power agreement signed with NTPC of India, lack of rain in hydropower catchments… the travails of Sri Lanka’s power sector are always in the news. The policy on energy has been driven ...

Reuters: The man tasked with running the new Libya reminded his forces that the war was not yet over as the latest deadline for the surrender of pro Muammar Gaddafi towns loomed and fighters massed on both sides. Earlier on Thursday, the voice of the on-the-run former leader boomed out from his hiding place, denying ...

By Harsha de Silva We understand that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is planning to compound undisclosed securities fraud by some billionaire investors. Media reports have begun to circulate that Environmental Resources Investments (ERI) and its Directors have agreed with the SEC to pay an insignificant fine of Rs. 10 million and compound an ...

Reuters: England piled more misery on India with a thrilling six-wicket victory in a one-off Twenty20 match at Old Trafford on Wednesday. After losing the test series 4-0, India started brightly in the shortest version of the game and racked up 165 all out, only to see England reach their target with three balls to ...

It’s strange how the innovations of the world tend to wrap around our daily life. One of them is the brand Facebook. I have been trying to locate a friend of mine for the last 12 years and failed, until I used a modern IT application like FB and today I realise the power of ...

Reuters) – Renewed fears that the euro-zone debt crisis could infect the financial system put pressure on the short-term funding markets on Thursday, forcing some European banks to pay higher rates for U.S. dollar loans. Banks rely on money markets for cash to fund their trades and loans. Fear about the safety of banks exposed ...

Reuters) – Gold rallied to its second record high in a week on Thursday, driven by growing investor unease over the outlook for the U.S. economy after data showed an unwelcome pickup in inflation, and over the lack of resolution to the European debt crisis. Asset such as stocks, corporate bonds, industrial commodities and higher-yielding ...

The Colombo stock market erupted yesterday before and after the SEC lifted the ban on broker credit to clients establishing one of the biggest day gains with value of Bourse rising by Rs. 77 billion. The benchmark All Share Index (ASI) shot up by 3.13% or 214 points and Milanka Price Index rose sharply by ...

Investors toast SEC move as pent up buying bolsters CSE to record one of the biggest day gains Market’s value jump by Rs. 77 b; ASI up 3.13% or 214 points; MPI by 3.67%; Turnover tops Rs. 3.76 b; Welcome net foreign inflow completes resurgent day SEC move will encourage greater recapitalisation at broking firms; ...