Imagine you’re sitting at the black jack table and the dealer throws you an ace. You’d love to increase your bet but you’re a little short on cash. Luckily, your friend offers to spot you Rs.50 and says you can pay him back later. T

Would a look back at what decisions we made be relevant to the decisions we make in the future? In retrospect is a term used wisely. Most of us feel wiser and mature, when we look back at the past. The decisions we have made, the people we have chose

“Investment is most intelligent when it is most business like.” -Benjamin Graham, The Intelligent Investor. It is fitting to have a Ben Graham quote open this essay because I owe so much of what I know about investing to him. I will talk

John Keells Holdings (JKH) was adjudged the country’s most transparent and accountable business entity when it bagged the Overall Winning Award at the annual ACCA Sri Lanka Sustainability Reporting Awards, with Diesel & Motor Engineering PL

The latest Sri Lanka-Iraq Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation (JEC) Commenced February 25 in Baghdad, a statement from the Industry and Commerce Ministry said. “Iraq is certainly an important market for us not only for tea but even for oth

In December 1952, during a historic visit to China to conclude the rubber-rice barter trade agreement, Sri Lanka’s then commerce minister Richard Gotabhaya Senanayake was presented with a gift by Zhou Enlai, then premier of the People’s R

Oxfam states that the accumulated wealth of the top 85 of the richest in the world equals the total worth of $ 3.5 billion of the poorest! It goes beyond 4 billion of the poorest, when one adds the total wealth of the next 250 richest in the world to

Soil organic matter is any material produced originally by living organisms (plant or animal) that is returned to the soil and goes through the decomposition process. At any given time, it consists of a range of materials from the intact original tis

There are many problem-solving techniques available to managers and most of them are powerful tools for reaching a solution. However, one stands out as the power tool to use for deciding ‘which’ problems to solve; ‘Pareto Analysis&r

It is a formal legal document, which provides details about an investment offered to the public. It is important to read the prospectus because it provides information regarding the terms of the securities being offered as well as disclosure regardin

The ‘Mahinda Chinthana Vision for the Future’ policy statement envisages making Sri Lanka a regional hub in five sectors. To ensure Sri Lanka is well poised to be the centre in the region, the government is looking to transform Sri L

Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Major General Qasim Qureshi made an open invitation to Sri Lankan exporters to utilize the current Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP) scheme Pakistan enjoys with the European Union (EU) and ex

The inauguration ceremony of Architect 2014, the 32nd Annual Session of the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (SLIA) took place on February 19, 2014 at the Main Assembly Hall of the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH).

Nawaloka Construction Company Private Limited is an organisation that has been offering multidisciplinary services to suit customer requirements for over 60 years. It has the Category C1 for building work and P1 for piling work in the ICTAD grading a

An engaged workforce has a major bottom line impact, according to Gallup’s 2013 ‘State of the American Workplace’ survey, businesses with an engaged workforce made 150 percent higher earnings per share (EPS) than their competition i

Too many of us look at career failures for the face value –as failures. Yet, life’s lessons are anything to go by; failures are not setbacks but foot-steps towards greater success and bigger achievement.

Northern Province Chief Minister Justice Wigneswaran has elaborated upon how diaspora remittances have deleterious effects. He has said that these remittances were having a very adverse impact on the lifestyles of the Tamils in the North.

The Colombo bourse’s upward trajectory which was evident in January 2014 got slightly held back in the 12 trading days, leading up to mid-February with the All Share Price Index (ASPI) losing 2.2 percent or 135 points to be precise.

Sri Lanka in order to become a knowledge hub would require to invest big, to strengthen the existing skills base, that would however require the sort of great national leap forward we saw in 2009 to ensure we have the kind of skilled workforce needed

Consider this simple question: “Does the present government have a strong commitment to high levels of capital expenditure?” Today in Sri Lanka most analysts tend to answer this question with a confident “yes”.

Achieving food security continues to be a challenge for Sri Lanka. Increasing population, changes in lifestyles, changes in food preferences and emerging middle income class demand more production. Therefore, governments need to make sure they are se

AFP- Nightclubs with diamante toilets, luxury cemeteries and local restaurants have made a splash during their debuts on Hong Kong’s stock exchange, proving particularly popular among “mom and pop” investors squeezed out of more mai

Process Mapping is at the heart of many continuous improvement techniques, ranging from the very simple, (e.g. Standard Operating Procedure) to the very complex, (e.g. Six Sigma) Process Mapping is founded on the premise that if you create a picture

The year 2014 is expected to be a promising year for the Sri Lankan equity market. The All Share Price Index has witnessed a growth of nearly 5 percent within one month. Further on, analysts predict an increase in market activities especially in the

Following is the inaugural speech by Arjuna Herath as President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, delivered at the 22nd President’s Induction ceremony of the Institute held at Cinnamon Grand Colombo.

They are young women of a generation that grew up with the Internet, software and lap tops. They seek solutions in technology and believe in the power of technology that can be harnessed to produce great many things. They belong to a new generation o

Sri Lanka has potentially extremely favourable medium-term prospects. In addition, macroeconomic conditions are likely to be more benign in the short term with 2014 being better than last year, provided the US Federal Reserve’s tapering program

The Planter’s Association of Ceylon (PA) has warned of an acute shortage of fertilizer which will have a detrimental effect on the plantation industry. The PA whose mandate is to promote, foster and protect the plantation industry of Sri Lanka

Tucked away amidst a tea plantation and bordering the Deniyaya side of the Sinharaja rainforest is a unique ecotourism venture that could hold valuable lessons on the future of forest-based ecotourism in Sri Lanka.

When one purchases a high-priced item, it is natural and reasonable to expect a high-quality of performance. For most people, cars and holidays count as the two highest priced items of regular expenditure. People save money to take their annual holid