Reuters: The Group of 20 nations on Friday pledged $430 billion in new funding to the International Monetary Fund, more than doubling its lending power in a bid to protect the global economy from the euro-zone debt crisis. The promised funds from advanced and emerging economies will provide the global lender with a huge war ...

Reuters: The International Monetary Fund’s bid to win a big boost in funding to handle the euro-zone debt crisis hit a speed bump on Thursday when Brazil demanded more power at the IMF for emerging economies as a condition for lending it extra cash. Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega laid out the terms for a ...

Prospects for the global economy are slowly improving again, but growth is expected to be weak, especially in Europe, and unemployment in many advanced economies will stay high, according to the IMF’s latest forecast. Although action by policymakers in Europe and elsewhere has helped to reduce vulnerabilities, risks of a renewed upsurge of the crisis ...

The heads of state of BRICS countries met for the fourth time at their annual summit, this time held in Delhi. The original BRICS countries are Brazil, Russia, India and China with South Africa joining later on. These countries belong to the category now described as emerging economies. The BRIC

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has once again been adjudged Sri Lanka’s Best Bank by Global Finance magazine, giving the bank the distinct honour of winning this prestigious award for 14 consecutive years. The US-based magazine has named its ‘Best Emerging Market Banks in Asia’ rankings in an exclusive survey to be published in the ...

Reuters: The BRICS group of emerging world powerhouses – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – is expected to launch plans this week for a joint development bank and measures to bring their stock exchanges closer together. Officials say the initiatives will take time

By Cheranka Mendis The volatility in Middle Eastern markets, coupled with the increasing issue of low quality due to competition and increasing costs, has placed the local tea industry in a big fix, which could, if unattended, immediately mark the end of a Sri Lankan legacy in four to five years. Despite Sri Lankan tea ...

Major emerging market economies will look closer at creating a joint development bank to co-ordinate their financial power as the world economy falters, said Brazilian Trade Minister Fernando Pimentel.  Development banks of the so-called Brics group of emerging economies plan to ink memorandums of understanding next week in India to work on the creation of ...

Reuters: A counteroffensive of sorts may be underway this year in what has seemed like a one-sided “global currency war” as developing economies slow, western money-printing pauses and the heat comes out of pumped-up emerging market currencies. The three-year-old “war”, as Brazil dubs the devaluationist policies of developed nations seeking relief from home-grown credit cru...

Loss-making State-owned enterprises are nothing new in Sri Lanka. One of the better known ones is SriLankan Airlines, which was given to Emirates due to its inability to breakeven but was retaken by the present Government. Pros and cons of this move is history but cash-strapped and a midst losses, it appears that the Government ...

Today is 19 March 2012. The day and the month of March are significant in the lives of many people – some celebrating birthdays, some wedding anniversaries, while others nurse what is yet left over from the hangover of the three day drawn encounter that we experienced a week ago or the limited over Royal ...

With the country abuzz with the contentious US resolution on Sri Lanka at the ongoing UNHRC sessions Asia Wealth Management Research team has come up with a brief analysis of the move’s impact if any. Here are excerpts from Asia Wealth’s analysis: The US proposed resolution on Sri Lanka in the current session of the ...

Reuters: Vladimir Putin triumphed in Russia’s presidential election on Sunday and, tears rolling down his cheeks, called his victory a turning point that had prevented the country falling into the hands of enemies.  Putin’s opponents complained of widespread fraud, refused

The first Government University of Australia that has set up in the country, the Ballarat University, staged an interesting evening last week under the banner ‘The Ballarat Debate,’ to a select club of professionals at the City Campus that discussed some interesting ideas on Sri Lanka’s economy. One of Sri Lanka’s award-winning marketers and former ...

Benito Mussolini, the fascist ruler of Italy, during World War II, said that his brand of fascism ‘should be more appropriately called Corporatism, because it is a merger of state and corporate power’. Compare this with the dictionary definition of capitalism: ‘A system in which a country’s business and industry are controlled and run for ...

Reuters: Global trade rules for finance, telecommunications and other service sectors have failed to keep pace with changes in technology and are “modest and flimsy” compared with trade rules for manufactured goods, said a report released on Friday. “Services trade policy reform can be both a basis for long-term growth and a way to bolster ...

Born at Moscow in 1961, Valeriy Belenikin is a graduate of the Moscow Academy of Fine Arts named after V.I Surikov. The artist’s conception of his work is based upon truth and the mystery of this life. He is in awe of all that takes place in this world. Not only human banality, but all ...

Following are some responses from three economists to the guest column by Chandra Jayaratne titled ‘Important issues’ for Sri Lankan legislators, the Executive, policymakers, Central Bankers, economists and thought leaders to ponder over published on 2 February 1) I disagree with the Stiglitz-Krugman line. My diagnosis is that Europe is in this mess for two ...

Some important issues for Sri Lankan legislators, the Executive, policymakers, Central Bankers, economists and thought leaders to ponder over: Stiglitz believes that the austerity plans in the EU nations, especially by the debt ridden poorer nations of the group is akin to a collective suicide pact and is an act madness promoted and enforced by ...

Reuters: The International Monetary Fund is seeking to more than double its war chest by raising $600 billion in new resources to help countries deal with the fallout of the euro zone debt crisis, but the United States and other countries are throwing up roadblocks. The United States and Canada said on Wednesday Europe must ...

Reuters: Sri Lanka may be a minnow in the oil world, but a near total reliance on Iranian crude imports means it has more reason than most to find a way to avoid being caught in the clutches of US sanctions. The island’s only refinery – the 50,000 barrels-a-day Sapugaskanda refinery – is almost entirely ...

MOSCOW (AFP): Russia’s growth ticked up to 4.2 percent in 2011 from 4.0 percent in 2010, making it one of the three best-performing major economies in the world, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday. “Russia is in third place among the major economies of the world

It will take more than Facebook to heat up the tepid market for initial public offerings. As conditions remain fragile, the backlog of public offerings has continued to grow. More than 200 US companies are now waiting to go public, the highest number in roughly a decade, according to Renaissance Capital, an advisory firm. Demand ...

PM’s and United Russia’s ratings falling Putin draws parallels with turmoil in Europe Says parliament majority needed to deal with crisis NOVO-OGARYOVO, Russia (Reuters): Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that if his party lost dominance of parliament in the Dec. 4 election, as a poll

Fitch Ratings says in a newly published special report that credit growth in emerging markets (EMs) is likely to slow in 2012 due to the weaker global economic outlook, policy moves by EM authorities to prevent overheating and base effects. Banking systems in most EMs which experienced rapid credit growth in 2010-H111 remain sound. However, ...

The Group of 20 heads of state met in France in early November launching an annual group meeting of the heads of State. The G20 is made up of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the EU, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea

Reuters) – The head of the International Monetary Fund warned on Wednesday that Europe’s debt crisis risked plunging the global economy into a “lost decade” and said it was up to rich nations to shoulder the burden of restoring growth and confidence. Christine Lagarde told a financial forum in Beijing that European plans to bolster ...

ST PETERSBURG, Russia, Nov 7 (Reuters) – Russia, holder of the world’s third largest foreign reserves, gave a vote of no confidence on Monday in Europe’s handling of its debt crisis as the head of the International Monetary Fund visited Moscow to seek support. Prime Minister

Reuters: New investors who have shown interest in Sri Lankan oil and gas exploration await the results of Cairn India’s drilling of a second well in the Mannar Basin before committing to anything, Sri Lanka’s Oil Minister said on Tuesday. Petroleum Industries Minister Susil Premajayantha confirmed that Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom, Malaysian State oil ...

to resolve its own troubles without support from Russia and fellow BRICs countries. As ...