Reuters: Asian shares crawled higher on Tuesday after sharp losses the day before but gains were limited as investors, worried about a global economic deceleration, waited for Chinese trade data due later in the day that could set the tone for risk appetite. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan nudged up 0.2 per ...

Sri Lanka Ports, Trade and Logistics Conference kicks off By Cheranka Mendis Sri Lanka’s potential as a major maritime and shipping hub in the South Asian region was showcased yesterday at the launch of the two-day Sri Lanka Ports, Trade and Logistics Conference and Exhibition held at the Hilton, Colombo. While times are challenging for ...

REUTERS: As China slips, the second-half performance for many emerging market mutual funds might soon follow. In recent months, investors have been pulling hundreds of millions of dollars out of stock funds that invest mainly in companies associated with the big four emerging market nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China. But it’s China that ...

Reuters: Asian shares slid on Monday after U.S. jobs data and cooling inflation in China exacerbated worries about flagging global economic growth, with investors not particularly hopeful that a European meeting later in the day would bring further progress for the region’s banks. The euro hit a two-year low of $1.2225 in early Monday Asian ...

Reuters: Greece’s new finance minister on Saturday pledged to carry out reforms and privatisations demanded under its latest financial rescue in an attempt to regain credibility with international partners stumping up money to keep the country afloat. In his first policy speech since taking office, respected economist Yannis Stournaras reiterated the government’s plan to ask ...

The Central Bank in a statement on Saturday said its attention has been drawn to several one-sided media reports which have alleged that the bank has lost heavily by investing in Greek bonds. Some reports have also claimed that the Central Bank was summoned to the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) at the request of ...

Reuters: Asian shares slipped on Friday, taking their cue from falls overnight in global stock markets. Sentiment stayed cautious despite new stimulus steps taken by three major central banks, with the focus now on U.S. jobs data due later in the day. The U.S. jobs report will offer clues about the extent of damage the ...

Reuters: China, Europe and Britain loosened monetary policy in the space of less than an hour on Thursday, signalling a growing level of alarm about the world economy, although suggestions of coordinated action were played down. Of the three, the surprise move was from Beijing which lowered

Like Sri Lanka, India is also facing a fuel crisis. However, some Indian economic experts had analysed the situation and expressed an opinion, which is applicable to Sri Lanka as well. In 1970 America insisted that all petroleum (crude oil) dealings should be in US dollars. Several countries purchased excess US sdollar to be kept ...

Reuters: Asian shares rose on Wednesday, extending gains for a third day in a row, as investors kept hopes high for more monetary policy stimulus to support the faltering global economy, ahead of a policy meeting by the European Central Bank. U.S. equities rallied while European shares closed

LONDON WASHINGTON, (Reuters): The global economy is showing signs of deteriorating after manufacturing in the United States contracted in June for the first time in three years, European factories took another hefty blow and China and Japan were hit hard by crumbling orders from abroad. Business

The vital importance of the development of export and its national value with policy on priority for export trade was emphatically stressed in the Budget speech for 2012 presented by the President. The projected objective was to achieve the export target braving the challenges from the international market. Imperatively Trade Promotion Organisations (TPOs) are bound ...

Last week I was on the Air Force flight on route to Jaffna for a meeting with 52 investors who wanted to invest in the first industrial estate in the Northern Province – Atchchuveley. In my hand were the key sites that one can visit in Jaffna as a tourist. The first thought that struck ...

LONDON, (Reuters): Barclays Plc chairman Marcus Agius quit on Monday, saying “the buck stops with me” after an interest rate rigging scandal that has dealt “a devastating blow” to the bank’s reputation. Agius, chairman of Britain’s third biggest bank for 5-1/2 years, is the first major scalp from the scandal, which is likely to draw ...

The Oxford Dictionary tells us that being ‘happy’ is being cheerful with feelings of pleasure or satisfaction. ‘Satisfaction’ is, in turn, when you are pleased because you have achieved something or because something has happened as you wanted it to. A synonym is being ‘content’ – being happy and satisfied with what you have. Rulers ...

Reuters: Brent crude fell towards $96 a barrel on Monday after weak factory data from top energy consumer China, while doubts remained over an EU deal which had helped prices post their fourth biggest daily gain on record in the previous session. A European Union oil embargo on Iranian oil shipments, which took effect on ...

Sri Lanka’s new development tagline Sri Lanka’s current development tagline has been to make it the ‘Emerging Wonder of Asia’ as originally enunciated in the ‘Mahinda Chinthana: Vision for the Future’ and reaffirmed in both the Development Policy Framework of the Government issued in 2010 and the Annual Report of the Ministry of Finance and ...

Reuters: Romney or Obama? Republican or Democrat? The U.S. presidential election may inflame voter passions, but based on past experience, whoever wins the world’s most powerful elected office isn’t likely to move the dollar. The U.S. dollar’s performance over the past 40 years shows little relation to the party holding the presidency and more to ...

It is with great pleasure and keen interest that I associate myself with a wide range of distinguished stake holders in the inauguration of this workshop under the patronage of Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS), World Bank and Department of National Planning. It is expected through this consultation process to provide a ...