Sri Lanka’s benchmark stock index, the world’s worst performer this year, may extend its slump as the central bank raises interest rates to curb inflation, according to HSBC Holdings Plc’s private banking unit. HSBC Private Bank, which oversees about $499 billion, will wait for stock valuations to fall to “single digit” multiples before it considers ...

Ceylon Biscuits Ltd.’s subsidiary company CBL Foods International Pvt. Ltd. officially opened the newly-built school hall of Ranala Model Junior School. An outright donation by CBL Foods at a cost of Rs. 7 million, the multipurpose hall consists of meeting rooms, classrooms and a mini auditorium for student assemblies and performances. The school is in ...

Today the life patterns of everybody have become a very competitive race with or with out one’s consent. Needless to say as a result the human beings are left with lot of stress and stress related health issues. Engaging in humour and laughter is a proven mode of releasing such stress. Making people laugh is ...

MALE (Reuters): The former President of the Indian Ocean archipelago of the Maldives sat inside his house awaiting arrest on Thursday after being ousted from his post in what he said was a coup at gunpoint. About 200 supporters stood under umbrellas in the pouring rain outside as Mohamed Nasheed spoke to reporters at his ...

HAS democracy failed in the Maldives? As chaos engulfs the second closest country to Sri Lanka, it is impossible not to wonder over where this change will lead. Will the country still continue as a democracy or will it fall into extremist hands? What are the lessons that Sri Lanka can learn from what has ...

Brent hits six-month high of $ 116.70 per barrel Brent widens spread above US oil to over $ 20 Iran-West tension, supply worries supporting Brent LONDON (Reuters): Brent crude oil rose above $ 116 per barrel to a six-month high on Tuesday as threats from Iran to ban exports to some European states stoked supply ...

It is an experience that you need to discover. Brown & Company have launched yet another first in the retail environment through the establishment of its Discovery Store at No.335, Galle Road, Colombo 3 (next to the turn off to Deal Place). The Discovery Store is a concept that allows customers ranging from ages three ...

Park Street Mews came alive with music on 29 January as it presented another unique, once in lifetime experience by hosting two international greats – Ken Stringfellow (of R.E.M fame) and Dr. Eugene Draw – a Canadian electric violinist; along with brilliant local artists Out of Time and the Beat Drummers. Ken Stringfellow – a ...

Ambassador updates foreign reporters on post-conflict development and reconciliation in Sri Lanka “Sri Lankans support a home grown solution for reconciliation” Ambassador invites international correspondents to visit Sri Lanka WASHINGTON: Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya hosted a group of foreign correspondents here in a January 25 reception held at his residence, prompting a discussi...

Sydney Morning Herald: This summer’s tri-series will be played amid a backdrop of a pay dispute which sees Sri Lanka’s players owed as much as $US 5million ($4.71 million) due to a cash crisis within the country’s governing body. As Mahela Jayawardene’s team battle the world’s top two ODI sides on the field during this ...

Leo Burnett Solutions Inc (LBSI), the Sri Lankan office of the internationally acclaimed advertising agency said yesterday it enjoyed an exceptional year in 2011. The agency maintained its leadership position as Sri Lanka’s premier marketing communications company and cemented its position as the Country’s leading creative agency. The agency grew exponentially in 2011 with significant ...

By a Special Correspondent You see them everywhere! Billboards clutter almost every city and roadway. In any cityscape is inescapable. And yet, ad agencies manage to ignore billboards completely when making media plans for their clients! The strange fact is, most outdoor advertising is neither recommended nor arranged by ad agencies You’d think they would ...

Reuters: President Nicolas Sarkozy used a primetime television interview on Sunday to flesh out a flurry of measures to boost employment and competitiveness which he hopes to rush through France’s parliament before a presidential election in April. Sarkozy, who is running far behind Socialist challenger Francois Hollande in opinion polls for the election, said he ...

Reuters:Samsung Electronics Co posted a record $4.7 billion quarterly operating profit, driven by booming smartphone sales, and will spend $22 billion this year to boost its production of chips and flat screens to further pull ahead of smaller rivals. The South Korean firm, the world’s top technology firm by revenue, is locked in breakneck competition ...

The market was jam-packed. A tuk-tuk overloaded with huge bunches of green bananas almost ran over my foot, knocking me off balance. Intense aromas and stenches invaded all our senses. Bicycles and the tiny motorised carts vied with jostling shoppers and merchants for space in the frenetic and frantic Pettah bazaar in the heart of ...

Text and pic by Harsha Udayakantha Peiris Malaka Dewapriya a young cinematographer with a determined  mission  towards a cinema with  a richer conception  to uplift the social bases of the communities has launched fieldwork for his first  feature on  silver screen for the local and international audience, namely, ‘Bahuchithavadiya’  which narrate...

PEO TV’s exceptional three month HBO promotion saw customers win big prizes this year. The promotion was launched on the 1st of October 2011 with a two week free preview of the HBO PAK which includes four channels – HBO, HBO SIGNATURE, HBO HITS and HBO FAMILY, for PEO TV customers. All PEO TV customers ...

Reuters: India cut cash reserve requirements for banks by 50 basis points on Tuesday to ease tight liquidity conditions, signalling a shift in policy towards reviving growth after two years of fighting inflation. With core inflation still stubbornly high, the Reserve Bank of India as expected left its policy repo rate unchanged at 8.50 percent ...

Effects first major move to become a self-made entrepreneur; his new venture N Capital acquires 70% stake Aspires to make iconic 35-room resort luxurious with Rs. 500 m investment to add 50 more rooms under a new wing and plush refurbishment Says deep south will be centre of economic, tourism and recreation boom with air ...

Last year when I got the opportunity of attending the summer programme at Harvard, one of the sessions that really got my attention was a session titled ‘Corporate Athleticism’. Coming back to Sri Lanka I was eager to bring to life this new theory called ‘Corporate Athleticism,’ which in actual fact was practiced by many ...

By Cheranka Mendis Construction work for the 350 metre iconic Lotus Tower commenced yesterday following the foundation laying ceremony at the auspicious time of 10:28 a.m. The tower, which will be the tallest tower in South Asia, is located down D.R. Wijewardene Mawatha, overlooking the Beira Lake and is budgeted at an estimated cost of ...

Reuters: The normally loyal Madrid-based sports papers rounded on Pepe on Thursday after the Real Madrid defender stamped on Lionel Messi’s hand during Wednesday’s King’s Cup quarter-final first leg defeat by Barcelona. The behaviour of the Portuguese international, who was playing in an unfamiliar central midfield role, was “shameful” and “intolerable”, M...

After Dialog hires local ex-Airtel boss Amali, Indian giant gets Dialog’s Suren as CEO Switches is common parlance in the telecom industry’s hardware, but it appears to have extended itself to the human capital base of two competitors. Hot on the heels of Dialog Axiata last week announcing the appointment of former local boss of ...

MUMBAI (Reuters): The India test side’s continued freefall in Australia has infuriated the media and angered fans back home but advertisers and broadcasters are refusing to give up on cricket, given a lack of alternatives and the fickleness of local supporters. Since the euphoria of a 2011 World Cup victory on home soil in April, ...

Reuters: Italy’s World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro, former Argentina skipper Juan Pablo Sorin and Frenchman Robert Pires are set to feature in an Indian soccer competition that hopes to replicate the success of cricket’s Indian Premier League. Some 30 players and six coaches from abroad will be auctioned off in Kolkata for the Feb 25-April ...

LONDON (Reuters) : FIFA’s former director of international relations Jerome Champagne has suggested changes in the world governing body to help end a perception it is run by self-interested men who do not care enough about the game. The erudite 53-year-old Frenchman, who left FIFA suddenly two years ago, has now broken his silence since ...

NEW YORK (Reuters) : Welcome to the era of the candid consumer.From their food allergies to home addresses, shoppers around the world are becoming increasingly willing to share more personal information with their favorite merchants, as they look for a more personalized and efficient shopping experience, an IBM survey of more than 28,000 people in ...

LONDON (Reuters): Mass euro zone ratings downgrades are unlikely to shake up investors too much, but with Greek debt talks at an impasse, pressure has been loaded on the bloc to shore up its defences and glimmers of optimism from last week have been firmly doused.  With the United States and Japan already downgraded from ...

Lack of participation in decision makingTop-down decision-making, centralisation of power and authority, lack of consultation with stakeholders, lack of accountability and the arrogance of political power are all factors which featured heavily in the socioeconomic environment of 2011 in Sri Lanka, mainly due to the lack of public consultation in the decision-making process. As Nobel ...

Kenyan Laban Moiben and Netsanet Abeyo of Ethiopia yesterday respectively won the men’s and women’s contest in the 9th Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, rated Asia’s most valuable. A record 2,475 Indian and global athletes including Sri Lanka’s Rueina Deepani and Indika Ratnayake vied for the popular event, which has received IIAF Gold label status. However, ...