Emirates, the leading international airline of the UAE, has opened its first airport lounge on the US West Coast, at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), representing a $ 4 million investment in the Bay Area. The SFO lounge has been designed with the same attention to detail as Emirates’ lounges throughout the world, including the ...

Cathay Pacific has started selling its new Premium Economy Class for flights departing from 1 April 2012. The new Premium Economy experience features a quieter, more spacious cabin than the traditional Economy Class with between 26 and 34 seats per aircraft. The seat pitch will be 38 inches –

LONDON (Reuters) : Oil hit a six-month high near $120 a barrel on Wednesday as concern about supply from Iran, other Middle East producers and Africa outweighed those about the health of the global economy. Prices jumped after Iran’s Press TV reported Iran had banned exports to six EU

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 ...

HAS democracy failed in the Maldives? As chaos engulfs the second closest country to Sri Lanka, it is impossible not to wonder over where this change will lead. Will the country still continue as a democracy or will it fall into extremist hands? What are the lessons that Sri Lanka can learn from what has ...

The Visible Hand of the government ‘The Visible Hand’ was the title which the famed London-based economics weekly, The Economist, used when it published a special report in its issue on 21 January 2012 on the rise of state capitalism in the modern era. The title has a pun: The governments do not care to ...

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,” ...

Ambassador updates foreign reporters on post-conflict development and reconciliation in Sri Lanka “Sri Lankans support a home grown solution for reconciliation” Ambassador invites international correspondents to visit Sri Lanka WASHINGTON: Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya hosted a group of foreign correspondents here in a January 25 reception held at his residence, prompting a discussi...

Reuters: Mitt Romney cruised to a blowout victory in Florida’s Republican U.S. presidential primary on Tuesday that put him back in front in the fight for his party’s nomination to face President Barack Obama and left chief rival Newt Gingrich reeling but vowing to fight on. With 70 percent of the vote counted, Romney had ...

Reuters: Pakistan’s premier on Wednesday appeared to back down from a confrontation with the military, moving away from remarks made this month that it had acted unconstitutionally in supporting a court investigation of a controversial memo. “I want to dispel the impression that the military leadership acted unconstitutionally or violated rules,” said Prime Minister Yusuf ...

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 ...

Effects first major move to become a self-made entrepreneur; his new venture N Capital acquires 70% stake Aspires to make iconic 35-room resort luxurious with Rs. 500 m investment to add 50 more rooms under a new wing and plush refurbishment Says deep south will be centre of economic, tourism and recreation boom with air ...

Citizens Development Business Finance PLC (CDB) kicked off operations for the New Year with the launch of its brand new savings account. ‘CDB Saver,’ as it is aptly called, was launched at CDB’s Corporate Office at Sangaraja Mawatha in the presence of its valued customers, staff and well-wishers. Blazing a trail in savings accounts in ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Reuters): Americans have traditionally been the most enthusiastic champions of capitalism. Yet a recent American public opinion survey found that just 50 per cent of people had a positive opinion of capitalism while 40 per cent did not. The disillusionment was particularly marked among young people 18-29, African Americans and Hispanics, those with ...

Rotating Savings and Credit Associations and the Finance Business Act No. 42 of 2011Cheetu or Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (RoSCAs) are the world over a well-recognised method of savings and capital accumulation for the poor and marginalised. Advocate E.B. Wikramanayake B.A., in his Legal Dictionary for Ceylon (1948 Edition) describes a cheetu club as ...

Sampath Bank with effect from 1 January has got a new Chairman and several new youthful additions to its Board of Directors. The Bank announced on Friday that at a Board of Directors meeting held on 29 December Chairman I.W. Senanayake decided to step down with effect from 31 December. Whilst accepting this decision the ...

SINGAPORE (Reuters): Brent crude is set to end the year up nearly 14 per cent from a year ago, supported by signs of an improving US economy and Iran’s threats to halt oil flow through a vital trade route. Brent rose 19 cents to $ 108.20 a barrel by 0701 GMT in the final trading ...

Emirates, one of the fastest growing airlines in the world, will add an additional five weekly flights to Paris in direct response to strong passenger demand on the route. Effective 25 March, the current double-daily Charles de Gaulle service will be supplemented by an additional four frequencies, increasing to five extra weekly flights in the ...

By Dinali Goonewardene Prathilaba was telecast on Rupavahini on Sundays at 10 a.m. The TV documentary, a studio discussion on investing in the stock market was commissioned by the Securities and Exchange Commission and panellists from the stock market industry participated. These included stock brokers, research analysts, fund managers and officials from the Colombo Stock ...

Edna Group of Ceylon, one of the largest conglomerates in Sri Lanka, has tied up with Dialog Enterprise to provide mobile communication solutions to the group, which includes Dialog BizConnect; an APN (Access Point Network) solution, allowing sales teams to give real time updates from the field. Dialog BizConnect APN (Access Point Network) Solution by ...

Reuters: North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died of a heart attack while on a train trip, state media reported on Monday, sparking immediate concern over who is in control of the reclusive state and its nuclear programme. A tearful television announcer dressed in black said the 69-year-old had died on Saturday of physical and mental ...

After the recent Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, critics found three new words for the acronym ‘CWG’ – Corruption, Waste and lack of Governance. The Chairman of the Indian National Olympic Committee, who was Chairman of the Organising Committee, is presently in Tihar Jail, in Delhi with many of his acolytes, on charges regarding ...

Arrenga Capital Research takes a deeper look at Budget 2012 and impact on select listed companies 1. A challenging deficit target – 6.2% of GDP in 2012 I. Government revenue targeted to grow by 20.2% YoY to Rs. 1,126.1 b (14.7% of GDP) II. Total Government expenditure to rise 14.1% YoY to Rs. 1,594.9 b ...

The Free Dictionary defines impunity as ‘exemption from punishment or loss or escape from fines’. In the context of the international law of human rights, it refers to the failure to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice and, as such, itself constitutes a denial of the victims’ right to justice and to bring ...

Reuters: The Iranian army is conducting a four-day training exercise to test its defences, state TV reported on Saturday, amid rising international tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme. Press TV said the war games started on Friday and were taking place over 800,000 square km in the east of the country. “The initial stage of the ...

Reuters: Italy’s president appointed former European Commissioner Mario Monti on Sunday to head a new government charged with implementing urgent reforms to end a crisis that has endangered the whole euro zone. After a frenetic weekend during which parliament passed the reforms and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi stepped down to the jeers of hostile crowds, ...

By Chamitha Kuruppu The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna claims spending Rs. 265 billion on an 11-day extravaganza is intolerable for an economically ailing country like Sri Lanka. Addressing a media briefing the JVP warned that the aftermath of hosting the 2018 Commonwealth Games would not be rosy as the Rajapaksa administration predicts According to JVP Propaganda ...

PARIS (Reuters): France announced 65 billion euros of tax hikes and budget cuts over five years, as President Nicolas Sarkozy seeks to protect the country’s creditworthiness in financial markets without killing his chances of re-election in six months time.  The main goal was to protect a top-notch credit rating that allows France to fund itself ...

Singer Sri Lanka recently announced strong third quarter results that validate its dedication to customer satisfaction. In his review, CEO Asoka Pieris noted that the group’s revenue rose to Rs. 15.47 billion at the end of the first nine months. The revenue represents a growth of 37% over the same period of the previous year ...

Airline, unions appear again before govt-ordered labour tribunal Qantas says 447 flights grounded, 68,000 passengers affected since Sat PM calls for end to dispute World leaders at Perth meeting among those affected Rival airlines put on more flights MELBOURNE, Oct 30 (Reuters) – Qantas Airways and its unions appeared before a labour tribunal on Sunday ...