First drop in new business in three years: The hidden warning in Sri Lanka’s April PMI

Here is the point that carries more weight than the headline PMI figures released by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. While much of April’s contraction in manufacturing (42.6) and services (46.7) was dismissed as seasonal — the Sinhala and Tamil New Year holidays, fewer working days, fading festive demand — the rupture in new business flows tells a different, more troubling tale.

April 2026 marked the first month since April 2023 that services sector new business contracted. Not a slowdown. Not a plateau. An outright decline. Nor was it narrow in scope. The deterioration cut across transportation of goods, insurance, wholesale and retail trade, and accommodation, food and beverage service activities.

The Island Financial Review asked an independent analyst for his take. Here is what he said.

“These are not fringe sub-sectors; they are the arteries of Sri Lanka’s domestic economy. Why does this matter beyond the seasonal logic? Because new business is a leading indicator. What falls today in new orders will show up tomorrow in production, employment and stock purchases. April’s drop in new business — the first in three full years — suggests that May’s anticipated recovery may be shallower than hoped, and that a return above the neutral 50 PMI threshold before June is unlikely unless geopolitical tensions ease sharply.”

“Compounding the concern, the decline in new business was not an isolated Sri Lankan phenomenon. It arrived alongside two external shocks: rising energy prices, which hammered transport and personal services, and the ongoing Middle East conflict, which lengthened supplier delivery times and added logistical friction.”

“To be sure, expectations over the next three months remain positive. Firms hope for a stabilisation following the end of the war. But the first decline in new business in three years is a quiet alarm. Seasonal patterns explain April’s production dip. They do not explain why customers stopped placing new orders. For Sri Lanka’s policymakers and business leaders, that is the story to watch in May,” he said.

By Sanath Nanayakkare

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Watch: Two Navy jets appear locked together in horrifying mid-air collision

Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho has been locked down after two Boeing EA-18G Growler jets reportedly collided mid-air and fell from the sky

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Fergie's last chance has gone - as Hollywood gives her a brutal slap round the face

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At least eight killed, 35 injured as train hits bus in Bangkok

At least eight people have been killed, and dozens injured, after a freight train crashed into a public bus in Thailand’s capital.

Flames engulfed the bus and nearby vehicles near an airport rail link station in the centre of Bangkok Saturday afternoon.

The city’s emergency services Erawan Medical Center confirmed the number of deaths, while Bangkok police chief Urumporn Koondejsumrit told AFP news agency at least 35 people were injured.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, Deputy Transport Minister Siripong Angkasakulkiat said that all the bodies were found on the bus. It was not yet clear how many people were on board in total.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul ordered an investigation into the crash, according to a statement from his office.

Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng, reporting from Bangkok, said the crash unfolded around 3:40pm local time (08:40 GMT), when the bus appeared to get stuck on an intersection with the rail line after the safety barriers descended.

As the freight train rammed into the stationary bus and continued travelling, it dragged several nearby vehicles along with it before the bus burst into flames.

Siripong would not confirm whether the bus had stopped on the railway track or discuss reports that the barriers may not have lowered properly, saying the matter still needs to be investigated.

Firefighters and rescue crews were dispatched to pull people from the wreckage and battle the flames as motorcyclists and passersby attempted to redirect traffic.

The fire has since been brought under control.

[Aljazeera]

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Indian geologist held at BIA with cocaine haul

A 60-year-old Indian national was arrested at the arrival terminal of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) yesterday while attempting to smuggle cocaine with a street value of nearly Rs. 108 million through the Green Channel.

The suspect was apprehended by officers of the Customs Narcotics Control Unit, following the detection of two kilos and 150 grams of cocaine concealed inside two certificate file covers in his luggage.

Customs officials said the suspect, a geologist by profession, had travelled from Kampala to Doha before arriving in Sri Lanka, on a Qatar Airways flight, at around 10.40 am.

The suspect and the seized narcotics were handed over to the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) officers attached to the BIA for further investigations.

by Norman Palihawadane

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Xi Jinping forced to intervene as Trump health fears surge during China state visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump paused on the stairs ahead of their three-day summit in Beijing, as China issued a pointed warning.

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Trump's Secret Service agent in 'intense gun standoff' with Chinese officials

The "increasingly intense discussion" occurred after a Secret Service agent was denied entry to Beijing's Temple of Heaven because he was carrying a firearm

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