Reuters: Textiles exporters hoping the fall of Sri Lanka’s rupee would drive a boom this year are set to be disappointed as a resulting rise in costs of imported materials undermines margins, the state-run Export Development Board (EDB) said on Wednesday. Firms have been calling for years for a weaker currency to help them compete ...

The Central Bank yesterday was emphatic that much needed dollars are coming to Sri Lanka and the foreign exchange market, reassuring that stability was on course. In an apparent reaction to widespread criticism including that of UNP MP Dr. Harsha de Silva’s claim that the robust inflows projected under the Central Bank’s 2012 and beyond ...

DUBAI (Reuters): Bahrain’s economic growth slowed in the final three months of 2011, a sign that political unrest is continuing to weigh on businesses after an uprising against the government was crushed early last year. Inflation-adjusted expansion in gross domestic product decelerated to 1.3 percent quarter-on-quarter from 2.2 percent in the third quarter of 2011, ...

Capital Alliance, a full-service investment bank will be hosting one of Asia’s foremost Investor Relations experts, Jonathan Zax, in Colombo this week. Zax’s investor relations efforts have been frequently recognised by the international financial community through top rankings in polls by Asiamoney, Finance Asia, Lafferty Group and Investor Relations Magazine. Last year, he received a...

Following is the statement issued by UNP MP Dr. Harsha de Silva yesterday: On 4 January this year we issued a statement on the state of the economy. Referring to that the ‘Road Map of Monetary and Financial Sector Policy for 2012’ unveiled by Governor Nivard Cabraal, the previous day we said it was “a ...

Many books and articles have been written about management styles, team building and motivation and whatever comes with being a good manager. Unfortunately, too many people think they are good managers when in reality they aren’t. Just reading a book or an article does not make one a good manager. Even worse, just years of ...

The country’s forex market encompassing highly dependent importers and key source exporters was yesterday rocked by what analysts described as the sharpest day gain in the US dollar exchange rate. Before mid-day the Rupee touched a new low of Rs. 127 and then on to Rs. 128 prompting many to assume the rate had bottomed ...

Citizens should make a noise The Central Bank’s former Assistant Governor and its long-time Director of Statistics, Dr. Anila Dias Bandaranaike, at a recently held exporters’ forum, expressed the view that the business community should make it their business to discuss, debate and deliver their views on economic policies being formulated by the country’s policy ...

TOKYO: Japan and 12 other Asian countries will likely agree to double the amount of funds available under a regional currency swap pact amid uncertainty over the European debt crisis, a report said Sunday.  Japan, China, South Korea and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian

 Reuters: Sri Lanka’s rupee currency will recover substantially due to dollar inflows into the island nation’s stocks, government securities, banks, and a hotel project, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said on Friday. The rupee hit a record low of 125.30 on Friday mainly due to importer dollar demand ahead of the April festive season, ...

TOKYO (Reuters): Asian shares steadied on Friday while the dollar took a breather after its recent broad rally spurred profit-taking, with some investors wondering if a fresh batch of encouraging economic data would put further upward pressure on U.S. yields. Financial spread bets are for major European markets to open flat to 0.1 percent higher. ...

NEW YORK (Reuters): The U.S. economy is growing again but faces tough challenges that call for action to create jobs and foster expansion, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Thursday. Geithner, speaking to the Economic Club of New York, singled out rising oil prices as a stumbling block for the economy because they force ...

High cost of living and festive seasons go hand in hand and the upcoming New Year looks set to becoming a particularly difficult one. With the Central Bank downgrading the economic forecast from eight per cent to 7.2 per cent and a rapidly depreciating rupee adding to increasing imports, the month of April, when consumerism ...

Says that economic growth still among the highest in the world, insists that external events will not affect trade By Uditha Jayasinghe As the rupee hit an all-time low, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa yesterday strived to bolster confidence in the economy terming the trade deficit the country’s “only problem”. With the rupee at an ...

NEW DELHI (Reuters): India’s businesses, already facing high interest rates and a global economic slowdown, worry that the finance ministry will ask them to shoulder a bigger tax burden in the budget set for release on Friday to trim the fiscal deficit. After a drubbing in recent state elections, the government has little room to ...

By Cheranka Mendis Despite the Central Bank’s forecast reading 7.2% growth for 2012, RAM Ratings Lanka CEO Adrian Perera is confident that the country can touch the 7.5%-7.6% mark by the end of the year. Perera told the Daily FT that the new projection is a realistic number from the 8% noted at the beginning ...

Is the consumer the king? Today the consumer is celebrating World Consumer Day, organised by Consumer International, to show power and strength by flexing muscles of worldwide consumer organisations. People say the consumer is powerful and he is the king and kingmaker. Traders say the consumer is always right. It may be so in other ...

SINGAPORE (Reuters): European banks will continue to reduce their lending in Asia, posing problems for companies in the region as local financial institutions lack the capacity to make up the shortfall, Singapore’s central bank chief warned on Wednesday.  Asian firms, other than the bluest of blue chips, have seen a jump in their dollar borrowing ...

The European Union seems totally consumed by an existential battle to save the Euro. But there are other symptoms of European malaise. There is no serious agenda of structural reforms to tackle “unfinished business” in the Single Market, especially in services and energy. Climate-change policies are increasingly costly at home and are not taken seriously ...

CONCERN over the controversial Channel 4 documentary has reached a fever pitch. In fact it is so high that it is causing some politicians to talk deliriously and call for local consumers to boycott US products such as Pepsi and Coca Cola or return to the days of snail mail by forgoing Gmail. Even though ...

Singapore: Japan should achieve moderate real GDP growth of 2% in 2012, following a 0.9% contraction in 2011, when the Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis damaged the nation’s economy, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said in a report published today. “

Exploiters or providers of a vital financial service?Those who lend money are unpopular. They are seen as the exploiters of the common man. They range from the most sophisticated international finance houses like UBS of Zurich or Goldman Sachs of New York or Barclays of London to the common or garden village moneylender, referred to ...

SRI LANKA’S fabled post-war window of opportunity seems to be closing, with the Central Bank following the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in reducing growth rates for 2012. But does that mean only gloom awaits Sri Lanka or can we ride out the tide and reach the golden shores? The Central Bank had originally forecast this ...

It is pleasant to lead a peaceful life with no encumbrances and without debts. In the modern world, debt has become a part of life like breath. In Sri Lankan society, it has not been the case and the practice before. It has been a burden and a commitment for somebody to live in a ...

In its new quarterly report on rating and issuance trends in the EMEA corporate bond market, Fitch Ratings says that many banks continue to face rating and refinancing pressure in 2012 while prospects for industrial companies are better. “European financial institutions, notably in the region’s periphery, face continued negative rating and refinancing pressure in 2012 ...

In its first CEO Forum for the year 2012, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) featured top Australian expert Westpac Banking Corporation Head of Risk-Reward Edmund Bosworth who explored in detail the post global financial crisis scenario facing the world

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 ...

Reuters: The Congress party’s drubbing in assembly elections proved beyond doubt that its populist politics failed to resonate with voters, and yet investors and consumers alike are bracing for more of the same from the besieged ruling party.  Hemmed in by maverick allies and the fallout from a slew of corruption scandals, the Congress party-led ...

Reuters: After a full throttle rally since January, risky assets may be primed for a further, although less stellar, run higher in the coming months, pulling in new money under pressure to perform. Average daily trading volumes in equities, bonds and commodities are down 16 per cent this year, reflecting some investors’ hesitation at joining ...

Reuters: Asian shares and other growth-linked assets fell on Tuesday as slowing economies in China and Europe and tension over Iran dampened sentiment, prompting investors to take profits from recent rallies that had been driven by ample liquidity.  China’s move to lower its growth target and data pointing to Europe possibly slipping back into recession ...