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New Delhi, May 27:

A sharp plunge in rupee value to near Rs 55-56 levels against the dollar may be bad news for the markets and the economy, but the currencys depreciation may bring cheer to some including, NRIs remitting money from abroad and expats drawing salaries in dollars.

Amid a fall in rupee and stock markets, concerns are rife about a slowdown in economic growth momentum. However, a weaker rupee could mean good news for the Non-Residential Indians (NRIs) and others remitting money from abroad to their families back in India, experts said.

The rupee has not only lost sheen against the US dollar but also against other currencies. One dollar gets a little over Rs 55 now, which is nearly 12.67 per cent more than what it did on March 1. Similarly, a British pound brings Rs 86.73, (up 10.62 per cent), euro brings Rs 69.30 (up 5.83 per cent) and Australian dollar Rs 54.02 (up 1.75 per cent), a forex expert said.

India has one of the largest NRI diaspora in the world after China estimated to be around 30 million. According to World Bank data, India received remittance worth $ 64 billion in 2011 - the top recipient among developing nations.

Windfall gains could also be reaped by expats working in India with income in foreign currencies like the US dollar but incurring expenses in rupee, they added.

This is because in the short term, these employees are set to gain from a weaker rupee as they earn more rupees from their dollar-denominated salaries, an HR expert said.

The rupee on Thursday hit a record low of Rs 56.38 against the US dollar. While some recovery was seen on Friday but the rupee remained above the 55-level. The rupee has slid by a whopping 13 per cent since March 1, while market barometer Sensex has tanked by nearly 8 per cent in this period.

Besides, for those people who are planning a visit to India now, have a lot to cheer about as they will get good bargain for their home country currencies now.

This translates to having more spending power in India as compared to other favourite destinations like Singapore and Thailand. Each US dollar now costs 1.28 Singapore Dollar, and 31.63 Thai Bhat.

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Weak rupee may help dollar earning NRIs, expats

'Expats'

Before she even considered marriage and children, Kate Moore had established herself in an exciting and fulfilling career.Then, after falling in love and starting a family, she began to slowly give up aspects of her work that were far from conducive to successful home life.But now she is about to leave the working world completely when her husband is offered a lucrative new position in Luxembourg, in Chris Pavone's "Expats."

Starting a whole new life in a foreign country feels strange, but Kate is determined to establish routines and a circle of expatriate friends.However, she soon becomes distrustful of her new acquaintances and eventually her husband, and she will need to call upon old contacts as well as old skills to keep her family safe.

"Expats" gradually unveils Kate's past and present by jumping the narration between time periods.At first it seems a bit jarring, but also establishes a quick pace from the very first page.This is a great thriller but it also presents an unexpected and interesting look at domestic life.

An average field day at her son's private school becomes much more when Grace sees the school building burst into flames and she realizes both her children are inside, in "Afterwards" by Rosamund Lupton.

Desperate to save them, she runs into the smoke and heat.Her heroic attempts to get her kids to safety place Grace and her daughter in comas.However, while their bodies are fighting for life, their spirits are free to roam the hospital and Grace begins to discover that the fire was not an accident and her children are still in grave danger.

Lupton's new novel is a bit reminiscent of her best-seller from last year, "Sister."The narration follows a similar voice as a woman tells her loved one about her attempts to safeguard her family.But "Afterwards" also feels a bit like "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold as Grace's spirit self investigates the events that placed her beyond the veil.

This is a great second novel for Lupton and a great choice for a wide variety of readers.

Carla Zollinger is a librarian with the Provo City Library. Email her at carlaz@provo.lib.ut.us.

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Book Buzz for May 27

Conversation turned to a local couple, who are desperate to leave Spain but who can't because their house is still unsold after four years on the market - despite dropping the asking price from 1 million to 750,000.

In 1992 the BBC spent millions of pounds launching an ill-fated soap opera, Eldorado, following the fortunes of British expats on the Costa del Sol. The project flopped and was cancelled a year later. Now, 20 years later, the real-life diaspora is experiencing an equally disastrous end to its Iberian dream.

Times are desperate in Spain. More than a million people took the streets earlier this month to protest at budget cuts, 24 per cent unemployment and the rising cost of living.

The price of milk and bread has risen by 48 per cent during the last year, according to a recent study, and of potatoes by 116 per cent.

Electricity bills are up 11 per cent while property prices are in free fall; they have declined for 15 consecutive quarters and are 41 per cent lower than in 2006.

Several of its banks are faltering: this weekend Spain's government is preparing to pump a further 19 billion into Bankia, the country's fourth-largest lender, in the biggest single bank bailout in the country's history. Trading in the bank's shares was suspended on Friday until negotiations over the rescue were complete.

Santander, Europe's largest bank, was among 11 Spanish financial institutions to be downgraded by the credit rating agency Standard and Poor earlier this month; and there's no sign of anything like economic recovery on the horizon.

Expats are finding life hard in a country where they once basked in a cheaper way of life. Around one million Britons spend part or all of the year in Spain, but thousands are now returning home and more want to, but say they can't afford to because their property is no longer worth what they paid for it.

For the first time since 1998, Spain recorded a drop in foreign residents last year, according to newly released figures.

With its narrow cobbled streets, whitewashed houses and children riding horses down the main road, Frigiliana lives up to most tourists' idea of an authentic Spanish village.

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Spain financial crisis: Sun setting on expats' Costa dreams

A rapidly falling rupee has sent hundreds of Indian expatriates in the Kingdom to the nearest remittance centers to make the most of the fabulous conversion rates. One Saudi riyal is now fetching more than 14 Indian rupees This means SR10,000 can fetch me more than 143,000 rupees Wow, I am delighted beyond words, said Basit Abdul Faheem, a middle-ranking executive at a construction firm in Jubail. Abdul Faheem is least bothered about the implications of a falling currency on the Indian economy. I am not an economist, and I dont pretend to be one. My life revolves around the exchange rate. I have been holding my money for a long time in the hope of getting a good rate. Now is my time. I see it as a kind of an unexpected increment and bonus, he told Arab News. According to news agencies, the Indian rupee sank to a record low yesterday, breaking the key level of 55 to the dollar. It fell to 55.05 in late afternoon trade, below its previous low of 54.91 on Friday. It later clawed back marginally to 54.97. Money-watchers say the rupee is expected to fall further. If you ask me, it will fall further, and, therefore, I would advice my fellow Indians to hold onto their riyals, said Gyan Prakash Agarwal, group chief business development officer at Al-Suwaidi Holding Co. Obviously, a falling rupee is good news for expatriates but certainly not for the economy back home; it will fuel inflation to record levels, he said. He explained that for those who are importing goods or raw materials into India, a weak rupee is certainly not good news. Because they are being forced to pay more, he said. And for those who are exporting their goods to the outside world, a weak rupee is like a bonanza, because they are getting more money. According to Agarwal, importers are the ones who will face the heat of a weakening rupee and exporters are ones who will reap a rich harvest. While Europes debt crisis has weighed on the Indian rupee, it has also been hit by a plethora of domestic problems including the countrys widening trade and current account deficits and slowing foreign fund inflows. There has also been pressure from oil importers, who exchange rupees for dollars when they buy crude for energy-scarce India, which imports four-fifths of its crude oil needs. My children are studying in India and we have to remit a huge sum toward their lodging, boarding and tuition fees every month. A good conversion rate means we pay less here and get more in India; Therefore, I am very happy, said Zeba Haider, a mother of four college- and university-going children. Abdullah F. Sharif, an operations manager at a Riyadh-based firm, feel that a good and robust conversion rate at the remittance centers will encourage middle-income Indian expatriates to take the legal route. Many Indian expatriates send money through the illegal and informal route, which is popularly known in sub-continental parlance as hundi. There, the rate remains fixed. A good and attractive conversion rate at the banks will propel them to send their money via the legal route, he said. So, yes, all this is great news for most Indian expatriates, said Abdullah. Provided you have the riyals to convert them. Danish Abdul Ghafoor, managing director of a Jeddah-based advertising agency, said a weak rupee will, as always, induce a false sense of increment among the Indian expatriates. They will be able to send more ... So, yes, this is good news (for the expatriates) in the short-term but it certainly is not good for India ... a 100-rupee bill is in essence equal to 10 rupees in value now, he added. The rupee was Asias worst performing currency in 2011, losing more than 20 percent of its value against the dollar compared to the previous year.

See the article here:
Falling rupee a blessing in disguise for Indian expats

Foreign property owners in continental Europe could face a devaluation of 50 percent on their homes if Greece was to leave the Euro, according to new figures from HiFX.

Martin Barraud | Getty Images

Data released today from a survey of British foreign property owners showed that 39 percent were trying to sell up in Greece, 34 percent in Spain and 23 percent in Portugal.

James Price, Head of International Residential Development at Knight Frank, told CNBCs Squawk Box Europe that the numbers of people wanting to sell up and the drop in value of foreign property reflects the pressure on the housing market by the euro zone debt crisis.

There are different levels in the market and I think that for the mass market of home owners overseas that there may well be issues for them around needing to sell and get out and I think there is quite a lot of pressure on them and they are having to reflect that in the asking prices that they are offering.

Home owners now had to be more realistic about where the buyers actually are versus where the property might be he said.

Price added that there was still room for investment in property abroad, with prime destinations around Europe still offering firm prices but that there was much more caution.

What people are looking at now is the security of their asset in the long term. In the prime areas people are now looking at properties that they are going to use themselves, its about their own enjoyment.

2012 CNBC.com

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British Expats Rush to Sell Euro Properties