UNITED NATIONS(Reuters): President Barack Obama will say on Tuesday the United States will “do what we must” to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned against threatening attacks whose consequences would be devastating. Preparing to take the podium at the United Nations six weeks before the US presidential election, ...

A number of articles which appeared in print media in the recent past signify the volatility in the economy. High volatility leads to vulnerability. Volatility and vulnerability are reflections of the haphazard nature of the economic policies and poor economic governance in a country

SINGAPORE: Business sentiment among Asia’s top companies fell for the second straight quarter, dragged down by export-orientated economies such as China and Japan, while domestic spending helped boost Southeast Asia’s outlook, a Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey showed.  Concerns over global demand are hurting Asia’s export engines, with autos, technology and shipping sectors am...

Commendable achievements Over the years Sri Lanka has gained a considerable reputation for its achievements in social development. It punches above its weight on the UNDP’s Human Development Index. It has also performed very well in meeting the internationally agreed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which focus on indicators related to poverty, health, education and gender ...

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 ...

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

By Saman Gunadasa World Socialist Web Site: A scandal over the manipulation of shares on the Colombo Stock Exchange has erupted in recent weeks, after former Sri Lankan Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Thilak Karunaratne accused Government ministers of acting in league with speculators. Karunaratne was pressured by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to quit his position, ...

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 ...

Reuters: Germany’s Constitutional Court gave a green light on Wednesday for the country to ratify the euro zone’s new bailout fund and budget pact, but insisted the German parliament have veto powers over any future increases in the size of the fund. The eagerly awaited verdict boosted global stocks and the euro currency as investors ...

The first Prime Minister of independent India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, wrote 75 years ago: “It would be absurd to say that the profit motive does not appeal to the average Indian, but it is nevertheless true that there is no such admiration for it in India as there is in the west. The possessor of ...

Government agencies are among the most complex organisations in nearly every country in the world. They often are large, have multiple objectives, and face increasing demands to deliver more services at a lower cost. As a result of this complexity, a government is faced with many organisational issues, including: redesigning their organisations and their interaction ...

Human rights Human rights are on the top of agenda today. Nations accuse each other of violations of human rights of themselves and others. Rights are generally violated during conflicts and wars as the strength of the weapon supersedes peace over and stability and rule of law. There is no shortage of conflicts in most ...

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 ...

Given first half performance, believes several 2012 Roadmap targets will be missed UNP MP and its chief spokesman on the economy Dr. Harsha de Silva yesterday claimed that most of the Central Bank’s 2012 Roadmap targets were likely to be missed, based on below par performance on the external

By Shanuka Tissera Leading bankers were given the opportunity to discuss the method of approvals of OPIC funding and political risk insurance, facilitated by the International Executive Service Corps (IESC) and the American Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (AMCHAM) for US equity sponsored projects. The keynote address was delivered by the Governor of the Central ...

Reuters: Asian shares retreated from a two-week high on Friday as investors scaled back their expectations of strong stimulus from the US Federal Reserve and fretted about economic growth after manufacturing surveys from the euro zone and China depicted a bleak outlook. Senior Fed official James Bullard said US data had been somewhat better since ...

Indo-Lanka relations Indo-Lanka relations have been cordial ever since the two countries gained independence. The most notable act of magnanimity on the part of India was to cede the Island of Katchchathivu to Sri Lanka through an agreement between the two countries. Relations have intermittently been strained due to domestic ethnic issue having had a ...

CAIRO (Reuters): Egypt has formally requested a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, a spokesman for its president said on Wednesday during a visit to Cairo by IMF chief Christine Lagarde to discuss support for the country’s ailing economy. Egypt’s finance minister

Inflation, hyper inflation and chronic inflation Inflation, as understood by the unsuspecting citizen, is the rising cost of prices over a period of time. This interpretation is far from satisfactory. It is high time people were educated as to the real causes of inflation. Dissecting the inflationary causes would be a difficult task for an ...

Brand Finance’s Annual Global Nation Brand Analysis Prologue Over the past three years, nation branding has received an enormous amount of coverage in Sri Lankan newspapers. Whilst some of these are based on the need to provide a marketing approach to building a nation, and its brand; many of the articles focus on developing a ...

By Cassandra Mascarenhas The technical sessions of the Association of Professional Bankers’ 24th anniversary convention were held yesterday, bringing the APB’s flagship event to a close. Aptly themed ‘Sustainability in volatility: The bankers’ challenge,’ each technical session explored an area that could throw obstacles in the path of bankers and the line-up of speak...

The NDB Group has delivered yet another strong performance for the first half year of 2012 recording a commendable profit after tax of Rs. 1,362 million to its shareholders, which is an increase of 36 per cent compared to the previous year. Chairman of the Bank Hemaka Amarasuriya stated: “The impressive results are attributable to ...

The ‘Yes-Man’ Parasite, a.k.a. HMV The dictionary definition of a ‘pun’: ‘the clever or humorous use of a word that has more than one meaning, or words that have different meanings but sound the same’. The second word of the headline of today’s column is not exactly a pun, but somewhat akin to one, as ...

Reuters: India’s industrial output fell for the third time in four months in June, adding to pressure on new Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram to move quickly and pull Asia’s third-largest economy from its worst slowdown in almost a decade. The manufacturing-led slump provided