Homes International Launch Luxurious Vills in India

Close to Chandigarh lies the haven of Mohali Hills, a gated mixed use community for those who appreciate the best that life has to offer. Designed to nurture family living in a secure 3000 acre environment, Mohali Hills offers luxury villa, leisure and shopping options which provide families with privacy and protection, yet the freedom to grow and flourish in a thriving neighbourhood.

Typical Villas consist of 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms plus Family room and Study 3550sq ft (approx. For more info contact a member of the Sales Team on 08700 99 2400

More New Homes Needed

The government should look to build an extra 270,000 new homes on top of its existing targets if it wants to meet demand, the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit have said.

The advisory body claimed that the three million new homes aim, will not resolve the problems for many first-time buyers, especially with predictions for continually rising prices.

Current house price inflation has meant that average UK property now costs seven times the average salary, and this is expected to rise to nine to ten times the average.

It is suggested that Britain's population would rise to 70 million come 2028, a figure that coupled with the housing shortfall is likely to result in more people turing to the rental sector in the future.

The Burj breaks height records

When fully completed the Burj in Dubai will be the
worlds tallest building. Currently construction is
working on floor 154, with a current height of 574.5m.

*The building will have the worlds fastest lifts travelling at around 40mph.
*The tower will house the first Armani Hotel.
*The tip of the spire can be seen from over 60 miles away.

Home buyers caught in stamp duty net

The Telegraph reports that a record 306,000 people paid stamp duty of 3% or more on their properties last year, as the Treasury cashed in on booming house prices.

The number paying stamp duty could pass a third of a million this year, as property prices are expected to climb by 10%, despite a cooling market.

The three bands are now 1% for properties over £125,000, 3% on properties over £250,000 and 4% on properties over £500,000.

Research published by the mortgage company MForm calculated that the average amount of stamp duty paid by people who bought houses last year was £3,581 - an increase of 25% on the previous year.

Click to read the full story http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/17/nhomes117.xml

Vodafone's Indian unit will spend $2b per year to speed up expansion

New Delhi: Vodafone's Indian arm will spend $2 billion a year as it aims to quickly expand in the world's fastest-growing mobile services market. Arun Sarin Vodafone chief executive officer also states that network expansion and sharing infrastructure such as towers, as availability of cheaper handsets and local calling rates of as low as one US cent a minute lure new users.

India added a record 16.4 million mobile users in July and August, taking the total to more that 200 million, up 63 per cent for a year earlier. The potential for growth is huge as only about 18 per cent of India's more than 1.1 billion people own a mobile phone.

Morgan Stanley estimates Indian telecom operators capital spending to rise 43 per cent in 2007-08 from a year earlier.

Gulf forex revaluation risk could squeeze dollar further

The broadly declining dollar could come under further pressure should Gulf Arab states decide to revalue their currencies and remove pegs to the greenback, prompting a flight out of US assets by the Middle East countries. - reports Gulf News
Read the full story here http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/10/06/10158387.html

Interest rates for UK - Held!

The Bank of England has decided to keep UK interest rates on hold at 5.75% for October!

The Bank is adopting a "wait-and-see" policy on rates until a clearer picture emerges of the effects of the recent global credit squeeze, economists say.

Full story is available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7027543.stm

India tops in migrant remittances

Total remittances into India from overseas Indians have grown steadily over the past 15 years, and dramatically in the past 10, skyrocketing from $2.1 billion in financial year 1990-91 to $24.1 billion in financial year 2005-06.

Factors responsible for the growth in reported remittances include the diminishing role of unofficial channels, shifting emigration patterns to high-skilled technology jobs, greater competition in the money transfer market, and the strenght of the Indian economy.