Last week I wrote about how there was a clash of speeds, how various sectors of our economy were not synchronised with each other. My focus was on the Southern Express Highway and how we need a plan to get moving! I travelled up north last weekend, along the A3 to Puttalam and then to ...

For over 120 years the name Mercedes-Benz has guaranteed trucks of highest quality. In the European and Latin American markets Mercedes-Benz Trucks today is still synonymous with reliability and economy, first-rate quality in product and service as well as global competency in customer-focused

Contrary to exaggerated claims the EPF investments in to the stock market last week had amounted to only less than 10% of market activity and unlike some past contentious buys, this time around it had focused on blue chips. The total turnover of the Colombo bourse last week was Rs. 8.6 billion and local purchases ...

Sharp reduction in vegetables prices thanks to higher output could help soften an otherwise sharp spike in inflation following the unprecedented fuel hike and devaluation of the rupee, according to analysts. In recent weeks, prices of vegetables have dropped by as much as 50% or more and this development will make the additional cost following ...

Reuters: Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Saturday a nuclear-armed Iran would trigger an arms race in the Middle East and nations should impose “crippling” sanctions on Tehran to force it to give up its atomic programme. “A nuclear Iran is a threat to the whole world, not just to Israel … Other major ...

Reuters: Asian shares rebounded on Friday on signs that euro zone officials will soon approve a long-awaited bailout for Greece, and after jobs and factory data pointed to a healthier U.S. economy. Financial bookmakers expected European stocks to track Asian shares higher, with financial

Police yesterday fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands who participated in a UNP-organised protest against the crisis following the unprecedented rise of fuel prices as well as overall mismanagement of the economy. UNP members gathered opposite the Fort Railway station shouting

ASI gains by 5% as Bourse’s value swells by Rs. 96 b Brokers positive after fresh meeting with SEC EPF, private institutional and high networth investors active on attractive valuations The Colombo stock market yesterday produced a major rebound gaining by 5% thanks what some described as “spirited support” whilst others emphasised it was largely due ...

Reuters: Britain’s top-notch credit rating may survive the threat of a downgrade because economists still believe in London’s resolve to erase a huge budget deficit and the central bank’s ability to print money. Rating agency Moody’s imposed a negative outlook on Britain’s triple-A rating late on Monday — the first such warning on London’s debt ...

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 ...

By Chamitha Kuruppu The two main opposition parties yesterday blamed the Government for making false promises to the people and called the fuel subsidy was just another gimmick of the Rajapaksa administration. The United National Party accused the Government, claiming the fuel subsidy for the private transport services and fisheries sector was nothing but a ...

Fuel hike fires up fresh crisis Unprecedented rise to rocket cost of living; Opposition says hike anti-poor; subsidy scheme impractical Import bill in 2011 first 11 months at $ 4.1 b far above 2010 full year figure of $ 3 b Experts urge country to go back to automatic monthly price revision Hike likely to ...

By Uditha Jayasinghe Sri Lankans may have to brace themselves for fuel price hikes as the country becomes increasingly hedged between high global prices and possible sanctions against Iran oil imports, a Minister said on Friday. “If global prices do not decline, then we have no choice but to increase fuel prices even though that ...

UNP MP, its spokesman for the economy and Consultant Economist Dr. Harsha de Silva yesterday gave thumbs up to Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal for the latter’s dual move of hiking interest rates and depreciating the currency, though insisted risks and challenges remain. “

“We have to give the rural people who comprises 80% of our population the results of giant development works we have initiated in the country. It is not only an expectation but also a challenge which we are ready to take up,” President Mahinda Rajapaksa said. Addressing the 64th Independence Day celebrations at Anuradhapura on ...

Iran’s parliament said on Tuesday it was ready to impose a ban on oil exports to some European states, the country’s English-language Press TV reported.   “In retaliation to the Zionist (Israel)-backed measure of the European countries to ban Iran oil, we are ready to impose a ban on oil exports to some European countries,” ...

IATA says capacity, economy loom as issues in 2012 The International Air Transport Association (IATA) last week reported that full year 2011 passenger demand rose 5.9% compared to 2010, in line with long-term growth trends. In contrast, cargo markets contracted by 0.7% for the year; but recorded

Stafford Motor Co (Pvt) Ltd., the sole distributor for Honda products in Sri Lanka for well over 35 years, celebrated a yet another milestone by introducing the first-ever eco-friendly Honda Hybrid to the Sri Lankan motorist last week. Keeping in line with the Honda standards and their expectations in terms of the required infrastructure, training ...

of a marine-based economy some five months before world governments meet to discuss pathways to more ...

Reuters: The world economy will lose momentum in 2012 but it will keep moving in the right direction, according to Reuters polls of around 600 economists who said crisis-hit Europe would drag on global growth. Asian economies will again power the expansion of the world economy

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka recently unveiled its pioneering Sixth Strategic Plan – communicating in all transparency its plans for the forthcoming financial period – based on the theme ‘Raising the Bar’. The Sixth Strategic Plan, like its predecessors, takes root from the policy measures underscored in the ‘Mahinda Chinthana,’ and is formulated to ...

Reuters: Airbus outsold Boeing almost two-to-one in 2011 after gambling on a revamped fuel-efficient jetliner and delivered more jets than its rival for the ninth year running, while admitting it may struggle to keep its order crown this year. Figures released by the European planemaker on Tuesday confirmed the popularity of narrowbody jets offering significant ...

SINGAPORE (AFP): Oil prices rose in Asian trade on Monday as worries over supply disruptions in Nigeria outweighed concerns over the mass debt downgrade of eurozone nations, analysts said. New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in February, gained three cents to $98.73 in morning trade. Brent North Sea crude for February ...

DETROIT (Reuters): As Ford Motor Co designers completed work on the new Fusion sedan, word came back from China: focus groups hated the headlights. “The comments we were getting from China was that our original design was too dark, too sinister. So we changed the whole construction,” said Chris Hamilton, who headed up the exterior ...

“Our sense is that if we do not act boldly and if we do not act together, the economy around the world runs the risk of a downward spiral of uncertainty, financial instability and potential collapse of global demand… we could run the risk of what some commentators are already calling

If the Governor of Central Bank has an urge to enter politics, he should come to Parliament without playing politics inside the CB, charges United National Party Parliamentarian and well-known Economist Dr. Harsha de Silva. Dr. de Silva notes that Governor Nivard Cabraal should respect the sanctity of the Central Bank and therefore if Cabraal ...

The Range Rover Evoque, Land Rover’s sensational new SUV – a car that won 34 international awards in the three months after its first production model came off the line in September 2011 – has arrived in Sri Lanka. The smallest, lightest, most fuel-efficient Range Rover ever produced, the Evoque has been described as ‘one ...

Brent crude fell near $113 a barrel on Thursday as renewed jitters over the euro zone crisis overshadowed fears of Iranian supply disruption after the European Union agreed to cut off oil imports from the No. 2 Opec producer. Oil prices are capped by worries that the euro zone crisis could slow down the global ...

Today, as much as China is the centre of global manufacturing, India has become the international hub for global service industries. India’s IT and outsourcing exports amount to over US$ 50 billion. The economic resurgence of China and India has also made way for the emergence of Thailand, Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam as manufacturing bases. ...

SINGAPORE (Reuters): Airlines in the Asia Pacific region may impose surcharges or increase airfares following the imposition of the European Union’s new Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), a move that could deal another blow to an industry already facing weak demand. The possible increases would come after Delta Air Lines in the United States, that country’s ...