An Echelon Media Company
Friday December 1st, 2023
Bellwether

Sri Lanka VAT increase is better than killing economic freedoms with income tax

Tax slabs should keep pace with inflation, dependent allowances should be considered

November 9, 2023 7 min read

Sri Lanka's rupee depreciation and economic crises; the deficit lie

Deficits do not rise much in the year that a currency crisis is triggered, but in the stabilization year

October 23, 2023 12 min read

Sri Lanka's new central bank act with John Law clause reverts to classical Mercantilism

Targeting GDP with easy money dates back to Scottish Mercantilist John Law and fully flexible policy to James Steuart.

October 17, 2023 13 min read

Sri Lanka should be cautious in expanding socialist leaning taxes

High direct tax rates, capital consumption taxes, are not a substitute for monetary stability

October 9, 2023 13 min read
Sri Lanka should be careful in over-relying on GFN at the expense of stability: Bellwether

Countries where inflationists cannot engage in macro-economic policy with money printing have low debt

Sri Lanka legislators should deny high inflation goal independence to the central bank

If parliament rubber stamps a 4-6-pct inflation target, a second default is more certain

Sri Lanka central bank will be unaccountable as long it can punish victims

The new central bank goal and objective are a personification of the impossible trinity of monetary policy objectives

Bellwether
July 12, 2023 10 min read

Sri Lanka can cut rates now, keeping them down as credit picks up will hit rupee: Bellwether

Reserves can be collected by impoverishing the poor, or by taking in their savings

Bellwether
July 5, 2023 7 min read
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Why is Sri Lanka's rupee appreciating?

Sri Lanka rupee appreciation explained

Bellwether
June 2, 2023 15 min read
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Sri Lanka's collapse in new sovereign default wave is not really China's fault: Bellwether

Mass sovereign default episode in the 1980s also followed a decade of bad money from the Fed

Bellwether
May 2, 2023 15 min read
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Sri Lanka budget support IMF loans show worrying policy confusion : Bellwether

Converted budget support loans and conflicting PCs can lead to new external instability, discredit and derail reforms

Bellwether
April 18, 2023 13 min read
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Sri Lanka tables controversial draft monetary law with multiple anchors

The new law appears to have brought back policy conflicts dropped in a previous amendment

Bellwether
March 9, 2023 12 min read

Sri Lanka set to continue 73 years of monetary instability with pseudo inflation targeting law

The inclusion of extensive macro-prudential laws is an admission that money is bad

Bellwether
March 1, 2023 12 min read

Sri Lanka ports, airports made essential services

A strike planned on March 01

February 28, 2023 1 min read

IMF should approve Sri Lanka deal, devise bi-lateral debt-restructuring clause

IMF should stop the promotion of impossible trinity regimes with spurious claims to monetary policy independence

Bellwether
February 28, 2023 12 min read

How Sri Lanka rejected Singapore monetary advice and politicians, people paid the price

Call from Goh, Shenoy to provide sound money discarded in favour of depreciation, flexible regimes

Bellwether
February 9, 2023 14 min read
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Latest Last
US Dollar 330.2942 315.1016
UK Pound 429.0139 401.1871
Euro 372.1704 343.1959
Aus Dollar 227.2526 211.5951
Yen 2.3820 2.1908
Source: Central Bank/Indicative
Latest Last
Indian Rupee 3.6453 3.5932
Korea Won 0.2342 0.2292
Oman Rial 780.3569 769.4973
Saudi Riyal 80.1114 78.9849
UAE Dirham 81.7952 80.6569
Source: Central Bank/Indicative
pts %
S&P SL20 2,573.80 1.00%
CSE All Share 9,073.41 0.65%
Turnover Rs million 1,591,766,524.95 1,029,335,694.32
Source: CSE
Latest Last
3-m bill 21.72 21.79
6-m bill 19.55 20.31
12-m bill 17.72 19.28
5-yr bond 21.00 22.53
8-yr bond 19.42 20.55
Source: Central Bank/Indicative
today yesterday
Overnight Money 13.93 14.00
Gilt Repo 13.50 14.00
I-m SLIBOR - -
Source: Central Bank/Indicative

Sri Lanka central bank caught between peg and hard place

Care should be taken to make sure that excess liquidity does not re-emerge from fictitious capital

Bellwether
January 19, 2023 8 min read

Sri Lanka's central bank crisis and John Exter's about face on hard pegs: Bellwether

In 1968 with Bretton Woods soft-peg hanging on a thread, advantages of currency board had become clear

December 15, 2022 7 min read
1

Sri Lanka's tragedy and the lost wisdom of D S Senanayake on money printing

That BOP deficits and reserve losses are caused by money printing is now hidden and victims are blamed

Bellwether
October 24, 2022 9 min read
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Sri Lanka rates elevated amid failed float and DDR fears

Fear of a DDR/IFR event drive rates even higher

Bellwether
September 19, 2022 13 min read

Sri Lanka is wrong to scapegoat expat workers over Undiyal: Bellwether

Indian billion dollar credit line also works Undiyal fashion

Bellwether
July 25, 2022 6 min read
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Sri Lanka, world's poor suffers from Fed's accidental discovery: Bellwether

It is through open market operations that money is printed to mis-target interest rates

Bellwether
June 15, 2022 13 min read
1

Sri Lanka's central bank needs accountability and restraint, not independence: Bellwether

The absolute discretion to print money through flexible inflation targeting cum output gap targeting has to be blocked

Bellwether
June 1, 2022 12 min read

Sri Lanka can trigger food shortages as in medicines with new trade controls: Bellwether

Forcing food importers to use LCs can create food shortages.

April 29, 2022 11 min read

What Sri Lanka's IMF program should look like

Steep rate hikes are needed to save the rupee

Bellwether
April 7, 2022 15 min read

Sri Lanka has to work fast to contain multiple defaults as Tanzi bites: Bellwether

A flexible exchange rate fails because it is not rule bound

Bellwether
April 1, 2022 9 min read
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