Reuters – The latest bid by the world’s leading institutions and creditors to speed up debt restructurings and get bankrupt countries back on their feet has been greeted by a mix of cautious optimism and weary scepticism by veteran crisis watchers. Standoffs between major Western-backed lenders like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the world’s…
The fourth Export Barometer Survey conducted by The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce highlighted the fall in exports in the second half of 2022, in line with the decline in national exports during the last quarter of the year. The survey, which covers the second half of 2022 and the outlook for the first half of…
The Research Intelligence Units suburban apartment price index for February reveals that the apartment prices are continuing to decline in USD terms making it an opportune time for foreign investors. However, this is not the case when the prices are calculated in LKR terms, RIUNIT says. According to the latest RIUNIT data, suburban average apartment…
On 16th May 1880, Col Henry Olcott (Rtd. US Army) arrived in SL at the Galle port to be welcomed by his good friend Ven. Migettuwatte Gunananda. Olcott connected with Ven Thero (after the “Panadura Debate”). Ven. had his early education under Christian priests of Wesley College, Colombo 08. If not, he wouldn’t have got…
By Dhananath Fernando I remember a litre of diesel being about Rs. 16 during my school years. I took the bus to school or sometimes, a very old Toyota van. When the bus or van stopped at the filling station, I would watch with curiosity how the filling station attendant pumped fuel. The price was…
Central banks in the larger frontier markets (FM) continue to tighten monetary policy as annual CPI inflation rates climb while others are keeping interest rates elevated despite CPI inflation cooling, as illustrated in Fitch Ratings’ latest Frontier Vision chart pack. FM central banks tightened monetary policy further in 1Q23 with interest rate rises in: Azerbaijan,…
The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) annual flagship economic publication, the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) April 2023, forecasts Sri Lanka’s economy to contract further in 2023 before it begins a gradual recovery in 2024, as the country navigates an unprecedented economic crisis. The economy contracted by 7.8% in 2022 and is forecast to contract by 3% in…
Sri Lanka’s heightened fiscal, external, and financial sector imbalances and its fluid political situation pose significant uncertainty for the country’s economic outlook, says the World Bank in its twice-a-year update, underscoring the need to address the root causes of the country’s economic crisis and build a strong and resilient economy to prevent future crises. Released…
By Prof Samitha Hettige Great China had so many natural resources. Thus the colonial powers didn’t want to let go China. If an opportunity is given again, USA would be the first to go & set camp. President of Ghana indirectly said that recently to the face of Vice President Harris during her visit to…
Headline inflation, as measured by the year-on-year (Y-o-Y) change in the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI, 2021=100) decreased to 50.3% in March 2023 from 50.6% in February 2023. The decline in the headline inflation is broadly in line with the disinflation path envisaged by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) in 2023. The Food…
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