By Chamitha Kuruppu Demanding a Rs. 10,000 salary increment for the State sector and a 40 per cent increase for the private sector, the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party complained that citizens in this country are ‘in misery’ due to the ‘bankrupt’ economic and political policies of the present Government and that the Government ...

Following is a statement on the Expropriation Bill by UNP Deputy Leader Karu JayasuriyaThe might of numbers in Parliament steamrolled the plight of the private sector albeit the nation last week. Notwithstanding widespread protests, the Government has placed in the statute books the draconian Revival of Underperforming Enterprises and Underutilised Act. That 37 business enterprises, ...

Discussion on the validity of non-military engagements of the military The war or internal armed conflict in the north and east is over; the Emergency is no more; but still the military is everywhere. The military is now engaged in peacetime police-work, whale watching, selling vegetables, agriculture, cleaning, constructions and many other non-military activities. Yet, ...

MJF Group Director Operations Malik J. Fernando has called for a Master Plan for the plantation sector. In a press statement issued this week, Fernando says an industry-wide Master Plan is required for Sri Lanka’s 150-year-old plantation industry to realign itself with internal and external changes and to remain competitive. “We need to develop a ...

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 ...

IT is said that there are two constants in life – death and taxes. To this, it is practical to add fuel hikes and the latest increase is just another example of how the lack of a clear and transparent price adjustment policy undermines the vibrancy of the economy. This is the second price increase ...

Global banking giant HSBC is upbeat on Sri Lanka’s external trade, predicting exponential growth above global average over the next 15 years. In its October 2011 dated HSBC Trade Connections Trade Forecast Quarterly Update, HSBC said Sri Lanka’s external trade would grow in volume terms by 105% by 2025 and value wise by 83% to ...

I like to be an optimist. No matter what may happen around us, I would like to retain feelings of hope I have for all human-kind and on a more intimate level for you, for me, the newborn and the to-be-born. Yet, what has already happened around me, happening now and may happen in the ...

With the World Bank announcing that the world economy is teetering on “a new danger zone,” it is of paramount importance for governments and financial power-houses to restore confidence through concrete policies and systematic financial planning. This is the order of the day, given the recent pessimistic report on the world economy delivered by Morgan ...

Since 1948, we have been planning for economic prosperity, but six decades have gone by without a semblance of anything to claim as our own. India has superseded all Asian countries and has reached a pinnacle of an economic power and it has even more potential to be a super power. It would be of ...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has cut its 2011 and 2012 growth forecasts for developing Asia amid ongoing worries about weak external demand from its key trading partners. In its Asian Development Outlook Update 2011, released yesterday, ADB trimmed its full year forecast to 7.5% from 7.8% seen in April. The 2012 projection is also ...

‘Remember your humanity’ is a phrase that was made famous by the Russel Einstein manifesto issued on 9 July 1955. This document is considered as the final major document that Albert Einstein signed before his death in 1955 and is quite a famous statement. The whole idea of issuing this statement has been to indicate ...

A MEETING organised by the ESCAP Secretariat for representatives of Asia and Pacific countries was held recently to discuss opportunities and challenges faced by the region in the light of current global trade and investment developments which have thrust the region to the forefront as a global leader in trade and investment. The recommendations made ...