Sri Lanka’s headline inflation as measured by the year-on-year change in the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI), has decreased to 7.0% in March 2020 from 8.1% in February 2020, the statistics office said. Contributions to the inflation rate of March 2020 from food group and non-food group are 6.0% and 1.0% respectively. Whilst contributions of food and…
SriLankan Airlines said it will operate special flights from India’s Amritsar, Coimbatore, Pakistan’s Karachi, Lahore and Nepal’s Kathmandu to bring home 433 Sri Lankan students who have been stranded overseas due to the prevailing travel restrictions imposed in view of the COVID 19 pandemic. “These special flights are being operated as part of the Government…
Sri Lanka’s apparel industry, is bracing for a massive blow amid increased cancellations of orders as COVID-19 pandemic is crippling the economies of its key buyers. In short term, there will be massive job losses in the apparel sector, Brandix CEO Ashroff Omar said and reiterated that May will be a very tough month for the…
Vulnerable families needing support as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and frontline workers battling the pandemic have received a total of Rs. 50 million in aid from Nestlé. In its second phase of relief efforts, Nestlé will be joined by its employees, who are voluntarily contributing part of their salary to help those in…
AP – Oil futures plunged below zero for the first time on Monday as demand for energy collapses amid the coronavirus pandemic and traders sought to avoid owning crude with nowhere to store it. Stocks were also slipping on Wall Street in afternoon trading, with the S&P 500 down 1.2%, but the market’s most dramatic…
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) is aware that some Sri Lankans who have gone abroad, for short visits for leisure and holidays, meet relatives and friends, pilgrimage, business purposes, training, seminars and conferences, medical treatments, sports, recreational and cultural activities, etc., and on student or equivalent visas, are stranded abroad amidst the prevailing…
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has requested all listed entities to disclose the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on their business operations. The CSE noted that the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the business activities of the Listed Companies in a substantial manner. Whilst many Listed Companies have recognized it as a significant risk in their business operations, its future…
Forbes – The COVID-19 pandemic has sent U.S. oil prices tumbling to their lowest level since 1999 amid evaporating demand and a lack of storage. The price of West Texas Intermediate, a major U.S. oil benchmark, was down almost 18% at just under $14.99 per barrel when European markets opened on Monday. The price was even lower in…
The ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak will clearly have a significant impact on the Sri Lankan economy. In the backdrop of a recessionary impact on output (GDP) the more visible impact would manifest itself through supply chain disruptions, sharp declines in domestic demand, a high fiscal deficit given lower government revenue, low tourism revenue and…
Moody’s Investors Service has placed the B2 long-term local currency deposit and foreign currency issuer ratings of Bank of Ceylon (BOC), Hatton National Bank (HNB) and Sampath Bank on review for downgrade. At the same time, Moody’s has downgraded the Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) of BOC to b3 from b2 and placed it on review…
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