HONG KONG (AFP): Asian markets rose Monday as investors reacted to positive US economic data and news that Europe vowed to its G20 partners at the weekend to take swift action on tackling its debt crisis. Tokyo closed 1.50 percent higher, Sydney ended up 1.70 percent and Seoul gained 1.62 percent, while Hong Kong was ...

BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand’s worst floods in decades have jolted a global supply chain already straining under the impact of Japan’s tsunami, as deluged factories threaten some of the kingdom’s key export industries. The floods have killed about 300 people, damaged one-tenth of Thailand’s rice paddy and made major roads north of Bangkok impassable. Toyota, Ford, ...

Reuters: G20 finance chiefs and central bank heads meet in Paris on Friday urgently needing to find a convincing solution to a deepening euro zone debt crisis that has fanned fears of a global slide into recession. A source at the French finance ministry — which is battling to flesh out the bones of a ...

Highlights include resettlement, Economic development newsWASHINGTON: Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the United States and Mexico Jaliya Wickramasuriya, is featured on a new webcast produced by the Embassy of Sri Lanka. During the webcast, Ambassador Wickramasuriya discusses post-conflict resettlement, reconciliation and development in Sri Lanka. He calls on members of the Sri Lankan community in...

Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, yesterday took delivery of its first A330-200 aircraft retrofitted with Panasonic Avionics Corporation’s (Panasonic) Global Communications Suite. The comprehensive communications and entertainment solution, ‘Sky Hub’, offers passengers onboard full broadband connectivity to access internet, mobile phone services and, for t...

nAsia Pacific most robust region; flat growth for Western Europe in Q2 nFMCG ad spend shows signs of slowing in Europe and North America, while advertising for clothing and accessories increases in Asia Pacific Despite overall growth of 5.7 per cent for the advertising industry in Q2 2011, ad spending fell in nearly half the ...

Reuters: More than 100 million rural Chinese people will settle in towns and cities in the next decade, testing provision of welfare and services as a new generation of migrants turn their backs on farming, according to a new government report. The National Population and Family Planning Commission report forecast that by 2020, China’s urban ...

The world’s economies are competing for investment, in order that they create jobs for their citizens and trade effectively in goods and services in this globalised world economy. Barriers and restrictions are tumbling down as nation states compete against each other, to become attractive

LONDON (Reuters):  Oil prices slipped towards $105 on Friday as some London traders cashed in on a sharp move up in Brent at the close of the U.S. session and as negative sentiment around UK banks returned, reminding investors of the worrying global economic outlook. Brent crude futures were down 57 cents to $105.16 a ...

The misery continues at the Colombo stock market as its year to date return yesterday dipped below the 1% threshold once again, a level last witnessed in mid July. A 0.4% dip in All Share Index saw the year to date dip from Wednesday’s 1.06% to 0.63% yesterday. On 19 July  the Bourse was recording ...

TOKYO (Reuters): Asian shares rose on Thursday, as optimism over Europe’s efforts to aid the euro zone’s financial sector and U.S. data suggesting the economy could avoid recession spurred short-covering and value-hunting. An easing of risk aversion, after an intensive sell-off earlier

By Cheranka Mendis Asia, which is estimated to contribute 52 per cent to the world’s GDP by 2050, has turned back a 260-year spell of declining contribution to the global GDP within a 80-year period and is now poised for better growth. Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal addressing the Asian Bankers Association General Meeting ...

Justice and fair-play is paramount Justice and fair-play are of paramount importance to all members of the world family consisting of 193 nations expecting justice and fair-play equally. It is the principle on which the United Nations was established in place of the less-effective League of Nations, in order to settle differences among nations based ...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Spot gold rallied more than 1 percent and U.S. gold futures as much as 4 percent on Tuesday, snapping four consecutive sessions of losses as a weaker dollar helped battered commodities stage a comeback. Euro-zone officials are working to magnify the firepower of the region’s rescue fund, European Central Bank policymakers said ...

By Deepal V. Perera in Washington DC World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick on Thursday called on developed nations to act fast in resolving their own big problems before they become bigger problems for the rest of the world. Zoellick made these comments at the opening news conference of the annual meetings of the World ...

SAINT JOHN (Reuters): Canadian economic growth will resume this year and the European debt crisis is “fixable” with existing resources, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said. In an apparent bid to counter growing fears of another recession in Canada, Carney also said he does not expect a U.S. recession, although the risk of one ...

It gives you a warm feeling to realise that you have become a CEO. What most don’t realise is that the aftermath of the appointment can be a nightmare. Gone are the opportunities and the luxury of blaming someone or some people for missing a deadline. A CEO has very much to do in forming ...

HONG KONG (Reuters):Asian stocks fell and the euro dropped 1 percent on Monday as investors fretted about European policymakers’ fumbling attempts to solve their crippling sovereign debt crisis.  A weekend of disappointing news from the euro zone prompted market players to cut risk and move into gold and U.S. Treasuries, even as speculation grew that ...

;s economy faces inflationary pressures as well as pressures on government debt, which means we ...

 (Reuters) – Argentina’s government plans to use foreign currency reserves again next year to pay off a portion of its debt, Pagina 12 newspaper reported on Friday, citing Deputy Economy Minister Roberto Feletti. The government submitted its 2012 budget bill to Congress

New Delhi, (IANS) India’s annual inflation rate for August inched closer towards double digits, fuelling speculation that the central bank may hike key rates again for the 12th time since January last year amid fears over slackening industrial output.  The headline inflation, based on the wholesale price index, rose to 9.78 percent in August as ...

Solar, wind, wave, geo thermal, bio massNorochcholai – underperforming, Kerawalapitiya – under maintenance, power utility – threatens strike, Sampur at Trincomalee – coal power agreement signed with NTPC of India, lack of rain in hydropower catchments… the travails of Sri Lanka’s power sector are always in the news. The policy on energy has been driven ...

Following is the DNH Financial’s outlook for the Colombo stock market this week and beyond. The country’s structural story remains firmly intact and 3Q2011 corporate profits will continue to remain strong, bolstered by robust revenue growth and improving margins. While the ASPI appears to have found a healthy floor at the 7000 levels, investors may ...

Egypt’s urban consumer inflation was 8.5 per cent in the 12 months to August, down from 10.4 per cent in July, figures on the state statistics agency website showed on on Saturday. The country’s economy had been growing strongly before an uprising erupted in January and toppled

Reuters: – Singapore’s finance minister said on Tuesday a global recession looked more likely than not and a Chinese official acknowledged China’s growth may slow to a 10-year low, highlighting Asia’s rising concern over its exposure to U.S. and European risks. If Europe’s debt troubles deepen or the United States slips into another recession, Asia’s ...

Reuters:U.S. employment growth ground to a halt in August, reviving recession fears and piling pressure on both President Barack Obama and the Federal Reserve to provide more stimulus to aid the frail economy. For the first time in nearly a year the economy failed to create new jobs on a net basis

The Sri Lanka Private Sector Assessment of the Report to the United Nations Secretary General by the Panel of Experts on accountability in Sri Lanka was released on Thursday. The private sector critique is a compilation of views raised by a private sector group in Sri Lanka who are concerned about the content of the ...

By Harsha de Silva We understand that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is planning to compound undisclosed securities fraud by some billionaire investors. Media reports have begun to circulate that Environmental Resources Investments (ERI) and its Directors have agreed with the SEC to pay an insignificant fine of Rs. 10 million and compound an ...

UNP MP and its chief spokesman for the economy Dr. Harsha de Silva yesterday raised concern over Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) alleged leniency over its action against Environmental Resources Investment Plc (ERI). In a statement Dr. de Silva said: “We are deeply perturbed

It’s strange how the innovations of the world tend to wrap around our daily life. One of them is the brand Facebook. I have been trying to locate a friend of mine for the last 12 years and failed, until I used a modern IT application like FB and today I realise the power of ...