HSBC will celebrate the New Year season in traditional style this year by engaging its customers and merchants in ‘Pancha Keliya,’ an Avurudu activity, from 15 March to 30 April 2012. To begin, cardholders will be treated to sensational savings ranging from 10%-50% complimented with ‘Buy One Get One Free’ deals and many more offers ...

aHSBC has partnered Asia Exhibition and Conventions to hold the biggest exclusive lifestyle fair, ‘The Big Deal,’ scheduled to be held from 23-25 March at the BMICH. This comes in the wake of the bank’s latest campaign, ‘Wake Up!’ which inspires customers to live their unspoken dreams with the assistance of a Lifestyle Loan.   ...

To encourage the habit of saving among the women of Sri Lanka and further strengthen their financial capacity, People’s Bank has named the period between 8 March and 8 April as ‘Vanitha Vasana Month in commemorating International Women’s Day. People’s Bank CEO/GM N. Vasantha Kumar accepting a ‘Vanitha Vasana’ deposit as Head Office Branch Manager ...

The MBA Alumni Association of the University of Colombo presents the Management Conference 2012, themed ‘Beyond Traditional Boundaries,’ which promises to bring together a diverse group of individuals, each of whom has dared to go beyond conventional limits and as a result, excelled in their respective fields. The conference will be held today at the ...

A top line up of specialists will be the key attraction of the annual management conference organised by the Colombo University MBA Alumni Association on Friday 16 March from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Cinnamon Lakeside, Colombo. Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa will be the Chief Guest at the conference titled ‘Beyond Traditional Boundaries,’ ...

Reuters: Greece claimed a major success for its bond swap offer to private creditors on Friday after it won heavy acceptance for a deal that averts the immediate risk of an uncontrolled default on its massive public debt.  The finance ministry said 85.8 percent of its 177 billion euros in bonds regulated under Greek law ...

Sri Lanka’s most popular deposit draw scheme ‘HNB Pathum Vimana 2012’ was launched recently for the 20th year, offering   prizes worth millions of rupees and many more. In an interview, HNB Assistant General Manager, Personal Financial Services R.M.P Dayawansa said HNB Pathum Vimana is the most attractive rewarding scheme in the country that has been ...

The Independent Television Network organized several programmes marking International women’s Day.Several programmes particularly focusing on women on Women’s Day were organized at the premises of the National Crafts Council based at the Janakala Centre in Battaramulla throughout today. These events were held under the patronage of Deputy Minister Weerakumara Dissanayake, ITN Chairman Rosmund Sena...

Reuters: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) suspended Kingfisher Airlines(KING.NS) from its clearing house effective Wednesday due to non-payment of fees, dealing a fresh blow to the ailing carrier as it seeks funds to stay aloft.  The industry group's clearing house, ICH, settles accounts between the world's airlines, airline-associated companies and travel agencies. ...

Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa will be the Chief Guest at the Colombo University MBA Alumni Association annual management conference titled ‘Beyond Traditional Boundaries’ on 16 March at the Cinnamon Lakeside, Colombo. This year’s focus on the conference is ‘Mastering Your Game’ and Rajapaksa, whose Ministry also includes the Urban Development, as Chief Guest is...

Seylan Bank always in the forefront for offering its valued customers with innovative products has introduced yet another exciting draw scheme namely ‘Seylan Thagi Pita Thagi’ offering exciting monthly prizes as well as a super luxury house worth Rs.15 million at the grand draw. Seylan Tikiri Plus account holders too now have been offered a ...

Reuters: A planned referendum in Ireland and a German court ruling cast new uncertainty on Tuesday over efforts to overcome the euro zone’s debt crisis, just when a flood of central bank money appeared to be calming financial markets.  Ireland’s prickly electorate, which has twice voted “No” to European Union treaties before reversing itself, will ...

The Galle Music Festival 2012 being held over the weekend of 3 to 4 March offers a unique opportunity to see local and international folk and contemporary music groups. The Samanala Grounds in Galle will be transformed into a traditional village setting where the folk music groups will share, exchange, and interact with other performers ...

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 ...

Subsidies? Well yes, but make them smart subsidiesNigeria: Subsidising the neighbours Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamidi Sanusi, had a problem. In a recent live interview with the Aljazeera TV, he said that his country had to raise the retail prices of all petroleum products to match the rising international prices, despite the violent and ...

Sri Lanka’s Nations Trust Bank has launched a promotional campaign in a bid to reward its existing savings account holders. Under the campaign which will be held every quarter of the year, the Bank is planning to offer an array of electrical household appliances for its customers. Customers who maintain a minimum balance of Rs. 5000 continuously ...

Reuters: On a recent Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight, water flowed from the toilets through the aisles during the entire journey from London to Islamabad. "What if it reaches some electrical wires and puts us in danger?" said one concerned passenger to another after flight attendants brushed off repeated complaints. "This could be a catastrophe." ...

Reuters: Iran, facing sanctions that could cripple its oil exports, has told world powers it wants to resume long-stalled talks with “new initiatives”, and France said it might be open to addressing suspicions about its nuclear programme. Tehran made the offer in a letter to the EU’s foreign policy chief obtained by Reuters on Thursday, ...

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 ...

Secretary to the Secretary to the Ministry of Coconut Development and Janatha Estate Development has been appointed to the Board of Aviva NDB Insurance Plc with effect from 8 February 2012. Siriwardena already serves on the Board of NDB Bank Plc., on to which he was appointed in June 2010. He has been appointed to ...

The People’s Bank ‘Jaya Sri 2012’ draw was unveiled on 1 February with a view of presenting everyone an opportunity to grab the prizes they always wanted. To mark the opening of this programme, a special ceremony was held on 1 February at the Headquarters Branch under the patronage of People’s Bank CEO and General ...

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 ...

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,” ...

“It is unlikely that in making his overstatement on development that the President was seeking to downplay the achievements of the past by his illustrious predecessors in the governance of the country. In the 1950s there was the Gal Oya development scheme that opened up the vast territories of thick jungle land in the east ...

Independent Television Network which has been feted with many Awards is again crowned as the Peoples channel. It has again won the highest number of Awards at the People’s Awards Festival. The Peoples Awards Night was held at Water’s Edge in Battaramulla last night under the patronage of Minister Patalie Champika Ranawaka. This unique event ...

Sri Lanka central bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, in an interview on Bloomberg Television today, said the central bank raised its repurchase rate a half- percentage point to 7.5 percent and increased the reverse repurchase rate by the same amount to 9 percent.

Reuters: Facebook unveiled what is expected to be Silicon Valley’s largest ever initial public offering, but made it clear to outside investors that they will have little voice in its running, as founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg will continue to exercise almost complete control. The Harvard dropout, who launched what would become the social networking ...

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 ...

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: 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 ...