Happy Diwali from the Finance Minister Mr Chidambaram

Dear Fellow Citizens,

On behalf of the Congress party, Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhiji and Mr Rahul Gandhi I would like to extend my warm wishes to the citizens of India on the eve of Diwali 2008. It has been a tumultuous year for the markets and as we have seen things have been going as per plan. We had a plan for 9% growth, however we came close to it at 8% and got a bonus 12% in inflation. We also managed to bankrupt a lot of the speculators and investors, some of who were senior citizens who lost their retirement saving in the market .

When the congress came to power in May 2004, the Sensex was 5000, now after 41/2 years it is at 8500, A stellar gain of 70% over a 4.5 year period as opposed to a 40% compounded gain if you had invested in safe fixed deposits. However if you had invested exactly a year ago, the return would be a -70%, a warning to speculators that India will not tolerate short term investors.

We are also happy to report that the rupee has breached Rs 50, so now your NRI brothers and sisters are given a welcome bonus this Diwali. The Foreign investors who have dumped the rupee and fled like rats will now have a greater incentive to return back, now that they have gained 20% over a period of 1 year. As you can see we are trying hard to please all sections of society and we look forward to continue this good work in the year five years under the astute leadership of Shri Manmohan Singh and Smt Sonia Gandhi.

Having seen the turmoil with the Italian Lira, we have superb leadership at the top which understands the economic consequences of pandering to the common people. I have instructed the SEBI and the RBI to take strict action against market manipulators who have been trying to create a illusion of wealth in the Indian stock market. Thanks to their efforts the Sensex has been brought down from 21000 to 8500, a level which will hold for a few more days, before we bring it down further to 6000 so that it is affordable to the common man.

It has also been an very happy Diwali for some of our Foreign short sellers who were allowed to participate in the merry making outside the borders of the country, thanks to a recent directive by SEBI, a brilliant move by the SEBI chairman.

With reference to housing we have managed to create a spectacular bubble where land prices have soared to the heavens. Some of the property where I live is now worth Rs 50000 per sq/ft. Even developed countries like the US and UK don't have the prices we have. We have asked our banks to make sure that the citizens are working hard to pay off the EMI's on the house/car loans for their highly prized properties. These banks are creating thousands of recovery agent jobs each month to make sure borrowers don't default on their loans.

As a consequence of the soaring housing prices, the congress party and other political parties have had great success in raising funds for the upcoming elections. Unlike the US which has a lobby system, the Indian political system depends on builders to finance their political activities. We prefer black money to avoid scrutiny of the Income Tax bureaucracy and thereby reduce corruption in the system.

Some of the builders have defaulted on their payments to government authorities and banks, and as a penalty, we will be confiscating their assets and then auctioning them over to our brothers in the Gulf, some of who have nefarious designs against our great nation. By doing so we will establish an ownership society where all the prime land is owned by our enemies, so they will have no vested interest in creating turmoil, riots or exploding bombs in our cities and towns.

In closing, I wish all citizens a very happy Diwali and hope that the next five years are even more prosperous then ever before.

Sd

Mr P.C Chidambaram

Finance Minister

Government of India

New Delhi

Samvat 2050

CNN-IBN touting the builders line

Mumbai house prices soar but no shortage of takers

Looks like the property marketing folks are at it again. With prices beyond the reach of the common man who will buy. Cushman and Wakefield are pimping the builders by coming out with useless data. If no-one can afford prices have to drop. 11000 per sq/ft in the outskirts of Mumbai is more then most places in the world. The builders will put up a brave face until they will relent. The property prices have not risen due to high demand since as we can see the demand is almost non-existent. Builders with surplus cash have caused inordinate high prices by bidding against each other. Now they are attributing the price rise to the rise of steel, cement and labor costs. The common man could be fooled but right now his wallet cannot support 11000 rs/sq ft. Maybe it can support 4000-6000. 11000 seriously doubt anyone not born with a golden spoon or inheriting is capable of paying so much

IBNlive reports
Mumbai: A two BHK apartment in Nariman Point at Rs 3 crore or even a Rs 11,000 per sq ft apartment in the far-off suburb of Mulund might sound atrociously expensive, but that definitely does not mean there are no takers.

According to the Planning Commission's latest report, urban housing shortage in India in March 2007 was around 24.71 million and is all set to touch 26.5 million by 2012.

Little wonder then that the real estate developers are unwilling to give in to the latest slump and reduce prices.

“The market is not growing at the rate we had expected but we are still not feeling the pinch,” says Manager, Akruti City, Tarang Patel.

“We might even witness a further rise in the already increasing land and steel prices,” says Director, Goel Ganga Developers, Atul Goel.

While the developers are refusing to budge, it is the common man with a limited budget who's feeling the heat.

For the average Mumbai citizen, who is battling inflation and rising interest rates, buying a house is just next to impossible. All that one can do is hope for prices to stabilise to own your dream house.

Bangalore

Prices won't land; buy that Bangalore house now

Faye D'Souza / CNN-IBN

Bangalore: While property markets in various Indian metros brace themselves for an oncoming correction, Bangalore's residential property rates are not about to drop.

According to a report released by property consultants Cushman & Wakefield, the city has witnessed a stabilisation in prices of homes with the residential rates across the city have recorded a growth of less than 10 per cent in the last year.

But experts say even though the rate increments have slowed down, the prices are not about to fall.

“There are indications that housing loan rates will not go up in the near future, which means that there is no fundamental reason for primary residential market rates to come down. It going to remain the same for the next six months and then it will rise again. So now is a good time to make a purchase,” explains Director, Cushman & Wakefield, Anurag Mathur.

The low market sentiment may have affected small developers but sources say big developers have not witnessed a slow down in sales yet.

While this might be the best time for you to buy a house in Bangalore, experts advise those buying property in the city purely as an investment, to wait a couple of months until after the new airport in Devanahalli is unveiled, as it will change the dynamics and the valuations of Bangalore's property market completely.

“The new airport is now reality. At the end of the month when it will open, the entire dynamics will shift. Access is going to change and that will throw up more opportunities,” Mathur adds.

The Cushman & Wakefield report also states that Bangalore has the highest demand for commercial space in the country, which gives experts reason to believe that the increase in jobs being created will result in more demand for housing.