BRUSSELS (Reuters): Europe divided on Friday in a historic rift over building a fiscal union to preserve the euro, with a large majority of countries led by Germany and France agreeing to move ahead with a separate treaty, leaving Britain isolated. Twenty-three of the 27 leaders agreed to pursue tighter integration with stricter budget rules ...

IMF Survey online: Policymakers in advanced economies should pay more attention to the effects their policies have on the flow of capital to other countries, and their potential risks, according to a new study from the International Monetary Fund. The new analysis is the latest research to develop

IT and skill development play a pivotal role, asserts Microsoft’s Harnick at ‘Accelerating Asia Pacific 2011’ summit By Cheranka Mendis in Malaysia The IT industry in Asia is expected to grow at a rate of 4.8% per year in a five year period beginning from 2008. The expected growth would generate 27 million jobs and ...

Parliament yesterday passed the 2012 budget with 151 votes for and 50 against, giving the nod to an overall increase in spending by 14 per cent and a shock 3% currency devaluation that has already been put into effect. The budget reading last week was overshadowed by the president’s announcement of a 3% currency devaluation ...

on a report that the International Monetary Fund ...

Rapid escalation of EU debt crisis threatens ratings Euro area approaching junction; closer integration or break up Likelihood of more negative scenarios has risen Probability of multiple defaults no longer negligible (Reuters): Moody’s Investors Service warned on Monday the rapid escalation of the euro zone sovereign and banking crisis threatens the credit standing of all ...

 Conflicting views remain after Budget’s 3% devaluation move PB says rupee should be market-driven; Cabraal says will defend Conflicting views on the country’s currency remain with Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera saying it should be market-driven, whilst Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal maintains that it will be defended. The simmering or what seems to be ...

Multilateral donor emphasises devaluation should help exports, reserves Opines 2012 Budget consistent with earlier plans Withholds eighth tranche of $ 2.6 b loan; mission in Jan The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday that Sri Lanka’s devaluation of its currency was a “step

WASHINGTON, Nov 22 (Reuters) – The outlook for Pakistan’s economy for the current year ending June 2012 is “challenging,” with global investors more risk averse, the IMF said on Tuesday, adding that ongoing security concerns are likely to limit capital inflows. The country’s authorities have expressed commitment to implement reforms in an attempt to enhance ...

A Budget generally brings mixed fortunes and the latest edition seems to be no different. Following the presentation by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, there was a wide range of reactions with the most shocking coming from the currency market that froze following the announcement to depreciate the rupee by 3%. Since then the rupee has hit ...

The rupee trading froze on Monday after President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced a surprise three per cent devaluation with immediate effect in the 2012 Budget speech to help exporters and cut import costs. Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said the devaluation would take effect from Tuesday, but assured that there wouldn’t be any further cut ...

CAIRO (Reuters): Egypt will formally ask the International Monetary Fund to start negotiations for a new $3.2 billion financing package after the country turned down such a facility in the summer, the finance minister said on Sunday. Finance Minister Hazem el-Beblawi had said in remarks published

Reuters: The shock waves of Europe’s debt crisis will take a toll on corporate America, particularly sellers of cars, consumer products and basic materials that generate significant revenue on the continent. The crisis that this week claimed the heads of the Greek and Italian governments is threatening to throw Europe into recession, and has U.S. ...

Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) emphasised the important role of Asia, and especially China, in achieving global economic recovery. “The rise of Asia in the global economy is really the defining economic success story of modern times

Reuters: Political and economic crisis in Italy spurred fears of a split in the euro zone with borrowing costs for Europe’s third biggest economy near unsustainable levels and the bloc unable to afford a bailout. The escalating crisis prompted European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to issue a stern warning of the dangers of splitting ...

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

COLOMBO (Reuters): Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has ruled that the government’s controversial legislation to acquire so-called underperforming enterprises and under-utilised assets is consistent with the country’s constitution, parliament was told on Tuesday, despite some opposition. The government act, which was presented to parliament on Tuesday, will see the state acquiring 37 pr...

HONG KONG (AFP): Asian markets were mixed on Tuesday as Italy’s deepening debt and political crisis overshadowed progress by Greece, another stricken eurozone member, towards installing a new government. Italy’s borrowing rates have soared to unsustainable levels with the yield on its 10-year government bonds hitting a record 6.676 percent on Monday, although it had ...

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

SINGAPORE (AFP): The struggling US economy and eurozone debt crisis have sparked a “growing sense of pessimism” about Asia-Pacific’s economic growth in the next year, a regional think tank said Friday. Expectations for growth are at their lowest levels since the last global economic slump in 2008, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) said in ...

BRUSSELS (AFP):The eurozone’s bailout fund decided on Wednesday to suspend its next fundraising operation for Ireland owing to jitters in the financial markets. The three-billion-euro ($4.1 billion) operation “has been put on hold,” the spokesman of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) Christof Roche told AFP, citing the ‘deterioration of market conditions.̵...

Following is the address delivered by Senior Minister for International Monetary Cooperation Dr. Sarath Amunugama at the fourth South Asia Economic Summit (SAES IV) Plenary Session: In the aftermath of the global economic crisis, there has been a noticeable shift in economic clout, moving from the USA and the debt-plagued countries of the Eurozone, to ...

Reuters: The International Monetary Fund said on Sunday that it was considering how better to help countries under economic strain because of financial market stress but said it was not targeting particular countries. The global lender was responding to weekend reports, including one in Japan’

Reuters: Euro zone leaders struck a deal with private banks and insurers on Thursday for them to accept a 50 percent loss on their Greek government bonds under a plan to lower Greece’s debt burden and try to contain the two-year-old euro zone crisis. The agreement was reached after more than eight hours of hard-nosed ...

Qatar’s economic growth is expected to drop sharply to 5.1 percent in 2012, down from a projected 15 percent for this year due to receding hydrocarbon expansion, the Gulf state’s development planning authority GSDP said on Tuesday. “The GSDP foresees a sea change in the economy’s dynamics in 2012,” the General Secretariat for Development Planning ...

Sri Lanka Economic Association Conference – Key takes at the inauguration By Dinali Goonewardene The Government in addition to domestic constraints faces a series of external and global constraints and the Sri Lanka Economic Association at its annual sessions from 13-14 October 2011 discussed this under the theme ‘Achieving National Economic Goals Amidst Global Challenges’. ...

BEIJING (Reuters): China urged the European Union on Monday to deal with its debt crisis as soon as possible and prevent contagion from spreading, as the country’s number four-ranked leader arrived for a visit of the continent, including Greece. “We hope that the EU countries concerned will reach a comprehensive settlement plan as soon as ...

The IMF’s recently-released Asia and Pacific Regional Economic Outlook (REO) shows the region continuing to lead global growth, though the forecast has weakened over the past few months, and risks are to the downside1. The recovery in advanced economies is more sluggish than anticipated at the time of our April 2011 REO, and the global ...

Addressing members of a visiting high-powered Vietnamese business delegation on Friday 14 October, at Hotel Galadari, Colombo Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen invited Viet Nam delegations to Sri Lanka Expo 2012, and suggested that Vietnamese businesses use the Indo Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement and the Pakistan Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement as ...

Arguably the world’s most powerful leader, Barak Obama, underscored that the Eurozone crisis is “scaring the world”. It comes as no surprise then that his Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner heads the international clamour for more action to solve the burgeoning sovereign debt problem that has dominated financial markets in recent times. George Osborne, Britain’s current ...