The location of Sri Lanka has a strategic significance and this has been proven by the historical trading activities between Sri Lanka and ancient China, Egypt, and the Roman Empire. There is ample evidence to show that Sri Lanka was a main trading hub in Asia. The reasons for occupation of Sri Lanka by the ...

The academics are marching. The students are marching. The Muslims are marching. Every day hundreds images of throngs of people shouting slogans and demonstrating blare across television screens, newspapers and of course, the internet. SMS news alerts about road closures and barricades abound as popular discontent rises to the surface through trade union agitation and ...

It is with great sacrifices that Sri Lanka brought about a victory against ruthless terrorism, which is certainly a feather in the cap of Rajapaksa family. No one can dispute the fact that President Rajapaksa provided the political leadership and ensured that the LTTE was decimated at any cost. The Tamil diaspora and the pro-separatist ...

I wonder if you can remember the famous World Cup Soccer final some years back where the fourth referee intervened after the great Zinedine Zidane head-butted Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the World Cup final. It would have perhaps gone unnoticed if not the TV referral. In my view, if this had gone unnoticed, it ...

The place isn’t a paradise for minorities but the economy is recovering By Sam Baker Asuasentinel.com: The Government of Mahinda Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka has probably botched its dealings with the United States, the European Union and the United Nations. Still, the disenchantment with Colombo may be overblown three years after the end of the ...

The global escalation of commodity prices in the latter part of last decade impacted Sri Lanka’s rice market, with retail prices showing sharp increases for the consumer. The regulatory forces with a ceiling on consumer prices and guaranteed price for paddy did alleviate this problem to some extent. Today it has taken a different turn ...

On Friday (7) afternoon, the eve of provincial council elections in three provinces, a certain gathering took place at 101, Rosmead Place, which houses the corporate offices of Democratic National Alliance (DNA) National List Parliamentarian, Tiran Alles. Consultations that lasted for hours, took place between Alles and UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa and a few ...

24th August 2012 Dr. P. B. Jayasundera, Secretary to the Treasury, Ministry of Finance & Planning The Secretariat, Colombo 1. Dear Dr. Jayasundera, Establishment of a Financial Services Authority and a Banking and Finance Commission I suggest for your consideration that you duly evaluate the long-term national economic benefits of enhancing effective fiscal management capability ...

With apologies to Francis Bacon whose quote is misquoted but not in essence of what he meant. Bacon’s comment that “reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man” is to be seriously looked at today in education and in practice where we appear to falter at every step of ...

Ever since the first aircraft was conceptualised by Leonardo Da Vinci, the dream of flight is still continuously evolving. The latest aircraft is known as the dream liner Boeing 787. There has been no end to the technological advances in aviation. The global aviation industry has since been enlarged into a multibillion dollar business and ...

Four examples; two bad and two goodThe website of the London Economist newspaper has a reference to an official of a certain country referring to a journalist in words similar to what follows – I have substituted words which would be appropriate to an officer and a gentleman addressing a lady, for what was actually ...

Case study Middle East   Sri Lanka is one of the most sought-after tourist destinations in the world. It is surrounded by the Indian Ocean strategically located between West Asia and South East Asia and has been an important stop on the silk route or the Silk Road. It has all requirements to be one ...

The Standard and Poor’s (S&P) Rating Services assigned a score of 8 (very high risk) to the Sri Lankan economy and banking industry last week. The role of ratings agencies in the lead-up to the global financial crisis (2008) was certainly highly questionable. There are also issues related to their accountability. Despite this, and setting ...

Recent newspaper advertisements heralding the birth of a sports economy is indeed good news for sportsmen in general and sports entrepreneurs in particular. Tax exemptions that serve as attractive incentives are a much awaited step in the right direction for a small nation who has time and again made forays into the big leagues. The ...

Reuters: Authorities in the world’s major economies are preparing for a possible market storm or public panic after cliffhanger Greek elections this weekend, officials said on Thursday, should radical leftists win and cast doubt on the nation’s future in the euro zone . Britain announced on Thursday it would flood its banking system with cash ...

Historically, capital markets have played an important role in the development of market economies and therefore the development of efficient regulation of securities too has become increasingly important. While fostering the development of the economy, the capital markets also play an important equalising role. Viz – it attracts the participation of a large number of ...

The NSB/TFC deal and the General Recent events in Sri Lanka have reconfirmed that though seemingly power may be unlimited, there are in reality constraints which limit the options those in power have. As proof of this fundamental reality, the first event is the purchase by the National Savings Bank (NSB), a State-owned entity, whose ...

WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters): The world’s economic outlook darkened on Friday as reports showed U.S. employment growth slowing sharply, Chinese factory output barely growing and European manufacturing falling deeper into malaise. In a shock that sent global equity markets into a dive, the U.S. economy added just 69,000 jobs in May, less than half what analysts expected ...

Ballooning trade gap Even with the multitude of measures taken to curb imports, Sri Lanka's cumulative trade deficit widened to nearly US$ 1.7 billion in the first two months of the year with earnings from exports increasing marginally by 3.3 per cent to US$ 1.8 billion whilst import expenditure shooting by 24.7 per cent to ...

Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka walked free from jail yesterday with a pardon from President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who appears to have bowed to growing international demands that he release his highest-profile rival while erasing the image of him as a victim. Ex-General Sarath Fonseka kissed his hands and raised them to a group of 2,000 ...

News reports point to an important decision that the minister concerned has been requested to make on the above subject. If this is correct it is important that we recognise that it is more than a million dollar decision that has been called for. It is so important a decision because it could determine the ...

LONDON (Reuters): The Bank of England looks set to call a halt to its asset-buying program on Thursday, despite the economy having slipped into recession and renewed risks rising from the euro zone debt crisis, as UK inflation remains stubbornly high. Ending its program of quantitative easing, or QE, may make life more difficult for ...

Economist and Academic of the University of Peradeniya Dr Prasanna Perera while expressing his views said andldquo;Volatility is Short term and therefore it could not be considered as a crisisandrdquo; at the public seminar which was hosted by the Organization of Professional Associations (OPA) for Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) on the topic Rupee Crisis?.