GENEVA (Reuters): The 153 members of the World Trade Organization agree on two things: We’re in a hole. And we must keep digging. The hole is the Doha Development Round, a decade-old negotiation that was billed as the next stage of trade liberalisation after the creation of the WTO itself. After repeated failures to clinch ...

GENEVA (Reuters): More business air travellers bought economy tickets in October, as they shifted from premium to cheaper seats, particularly in Europe, due to the economic crisis, industry body IATA said. Although overall travel has not stopped growing “so far,” airline profitability will be more challenging in this quarter as jet fuel prices have not ...

Etihad Airways on Monday announced it was buying 10 more Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners in a deal which will make it the largest operator of the aircraft type in the world. The airline has also ordered another two Boeing 777 Freighters for its fast growing Etihad Crystal Cargo operation. The 12 additional aircraft are valued at ...

Thai Airways International is to become the first airline in Asia to fly a commercial passenger flight using biofuels. On Wednesday, 21 December 2011, THAI will operate its inaugural biofuels flight TG8421 utilizing Boeing 777-200 aircraft. Then on 22 December 2011, THAI will operate the first commercial (with passengers) biofuels flight in Asia, TG104 from ...

Order increases Boeing’s 787 customer base in Middle EastBoeing and Oman Air, the Sultanate of Oman’s flagship carrier recently announced an order for six Boeing 787-8s at the Dubai Airshow. The airline completed an arrangement with Boeing and Kuwait-based leasing company ALAFCO to transfer existing orders for the six Dreamliners from ALAFCO to Oman Air. ...

Transparency International, the anti-corruption organisation, last week called on the international donor community meeting in Busan, South Korea, to fight corruption by endorsing stronger aid transparency standards. It said as the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness held in Busan, South Korea, governments seem far from consensus on making aid transparency a reality beyond ...

Haycarb PLC, the world’s largest coconut shell based activated carbon producer, has become one of the first companies in Sri Lanka to successfully register and trade-in carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol. The Hayleys Group company has announced that it has obtained approval to receive the first block of payment for over 4, 000 CER ...

PARIS/NEW YORK (Reuters): Standard & Poor’s has warned it may carry out an unprecedented mass downgrade of euro zone countries, including Germany and France, if EU leaders fail to deliver a convincing agreement on how to solve the region’s debt crisis in a summit on Friday. The ratings warning sent markets reeling and drew a ...

Chamber prefers compensation fund over emissions trading scheme Carbon levy could help finance Green Climate Fund BRUSSELS 9 (Reuters): The International Chamber of Shipping last week joined campaign groups Oxfam and WWF to urge climate talks in Durban to help put a price on polluting emissions from ships, which could help raise funding to tackle ...

NEW DELHI: India’s food inflation eased to a four-month low in the week to 19 November as vegetables, cereals and eggs turned cheaper. The decline in the reading for the fourth consecutive week came as a respite to the government struggling to recover from a string of recent bad tidings. Data released by the commerce ...

After the recent Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, critics found three new words for the acronym ‘CWG’ – Corruption, Waste and lack of Governance. The Chairman of the Indian National Olympic Committee, who was Chairman of the Organising Committee, is presently in Tihar Jail, in Delhi with many of his acolytes, on charges regarding ...

HONG KONG (Reuters): Global container ship operators, hammered by high costs, oversupply and flagging demand, are cutting shipping capacity to shore up freight rates depressed by a sluggish global economy. Many container carriers have been losing money since the third quarter as freight rates fell sharply, mainly due to a supply glut, industry experts said ...

Says depreciation by Budget only a one off, admits other sectors will suffer but notes growth will offset negatives By Uditha Jayasinghe The detriments of depreciation must be countered by aggressive growth in exports, the Central Bank Governor said yesterday, insisting that impediments to the industry had been removed by the latest Budget. Speaking for ...

1. The President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance and Planning delivered the seventh consecutive Budget of the present Government for the year 2012 to the Parliament on 21 November. Prior to the preparation of the Budget, the President himself, Secretary, Minister of Finance and Planning and most of the line ministries conducted ...

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 ...

Exports, imports up in Sept; Healthy financial inflows Two commercial banks infuse $ 250 m capital from overseas sources; corporate offshore debt capital raising tops $260 m Private sector borrowing averages Rs. 37 b per month in 2011 CB leaves policy rates unchanged for 10th straight month despite benign inflation and the inflation outlook Urges ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters): The sun’s abundant energy, if harvested in space, could provide a cost-effective way to meet global power needs in as little as 30 years with seed money from governments, according to a study by an international scientific group. Orbiting power plants capable of collecting solar energy and beaming it to Earth appear “technically ...

Wella, the world’s leader in hair care, was re-launched in Sri Lanka today with plans to take the country’s hair care industry by storm. Adding significance to this milestone event was the parallel launch of the exclusive Wella Studio (Training Centre) at 630, Kotte Road in Kotte.  Authorised dealer for Wella in Sri Lanka is ...

MUMBAI (Reuters) – India’s No. two carrier Kingfisher Airlines, controlled by liquor baron Vijay Mallya, plans to cancel 31 flights daily till 19 November, including four international flights to Bangkok, the Mint newspaper reported, citing an unnamed airline official. The cash-strapped carrier, which has not reported a profit ever since it got listed and has ...

 Eurozone crisis makes industry outlook uncertain COSCO negotiates lower charter rates Many shipping companies hit hard by industry downturn BOAO, China, (Reuters): Global shipping is in a downturn even worse than during the 2008 financial crisis, China’s transportation minister said on Thursday, with the outlook for the industry made increasingly uncertain by the European debt ...

Dialog Enterprise, the corporate business solutions arm of Dialog Axiata has opened a state-of-the-art demonstration and interaction center named as Dialog Enterprise Discovery Centre which will be a conduit to showcase the latest enterprise services and solutions provided to corporate customers. Also it acts as an incubation gallery where latest communication technologies are introduced with ...

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, ...

Environmental trends threaten global progress for poor, warns 2011 Human Development ReportDevelopment progress in the world’s poorest countries could be halted or even reversed by mid-century unless bold steps are taken now to slow climate change, prevent further environmental damage, and reduce deep inequalities within and among nations, according to projections in the 2011 Human ...

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 ...

Reuters: Unlisted low-cost carrier flydubai is looking to order new aircraft as early as next year and expects to break even soon, the airline’s Chief Executive said last week. “We should be making an announcement (about orders) in the next year at least or two years maximum,” Ghaith Al Ghaith told reporters on the sidelines ...

SINGAPORE (Reuters): Singapore Airlines Ltd. (SIA), the world’s second largest carrier by market value, posted on Thursday a 49 percent drop in second quarter net profit due to high jet fuel prices and said yields will remain under pressure. The global airlines industry, which only recovered from its worst-ever downturn last year, is facing new ...

The biggest ever IPO by a home grown entity People’s Leasing Ltd., (PLC) officially opens today aiming to raise Rs. 7 billion to boost its growing business in post-war Sri Lanka. The IPO involves 390 million ordinary voting shares at Rs. 18 each. Top brokerages have already recommended the IPO as ‘Buy’. PLC is 100% ...

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 ...

Harvard University may be America’s top-ranked national university, along with Princeton University, in US News and World Report’s latest best colleges rankings, but a competitor across the pond is now stealing some of that thunder. For the second year in a row, the United Kingdom’s University of Cambridge topped Harvard in the U.S. News World’s ...

Annual inflation surprises with higher-than-expected fall Improved food supply cool inflation-cenbank Cenbank says Nov inflation to rise By Shihar Aneez  (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s annual inflation slowed far faster than forecast to a 14-month low in October from a year earlier, government data showed on Monday, due to a better local food supply and easing ...