COLOMBO -- Sri Lanka's central bank governor on Thursday confirmed the country had defaulted on foreign bonds and warned inflation could soar to 40%, but struck an optimistic note that a modicum of political stability was returning.
Addressing the expiration of a grace period on a pair of bonds worth $78 million the previous day, Gov. Nandalal Weerasinghe told reporters that the country's first default was not a "hard" one, since it had been telegraphed a month in advance.
