offshore-finances.com

Nokia Corp. (NOK) has acquired Dopplr Oy, a privately held social-network service provider for mobile devices. Dopplr offers services to travelers. This acquisition will provide technical know-how to Nokia in creating internet-based communities and showing their journeys, experiences and tastes collectively on the web. Nokia will integrate Dopplr’s services with its own Ovi application suite especially with its NAVTEQ system that provides comprehensive digital map information to … [visit site to read more]

Well… Instead of a “turn around Tuesday”, we’re seeing a whiplash Wednesday! And for once the Big Dog (euro) (EUR) didn’t lead the other little dogs (currencies) off the porch to chase the dollar down the street!

No… This time it was the currencies of Australia (AUD) and New Zealand (NZD) that led the charge versus the dollar. The euro has taken up the charge since opening the doors to a new day of trading in Europe, so… It looks like it’s a “take the dollar to the woodshed” … [visit site to read more]

The American economy contracted only 0.7% in the second quarter, the government finalized today. That’s down from its previous projection of 1% and practically seals the deal for a positive GDP number when Uncle Sam gives his initial third-quarter guess in late October.

Still, this is the fourth consecutive official drop in GDP – the longest U.S. economic losing streak since records began in 1947. The economy has contracted 3.8% since then, the deepest pullback since the Great … [visit site to read more]

A mid-morning report showing an unexpected reversion to economic contraction in the Chicago-area had the same impact on currency values today as the butterfly that flapped its wings in the Amazonian jungle. An earlier report showing a larger slowdown in the pace of GDP contraction had boosted the dollar and highlighted the appeal of higher-yield plays around the world. Chaos theory struck forex town as investors were thrown off the currency market rollercoaster before the dollar’s decline … [visit site to read more]

Having purchased your dream home abroad or your investment property overseas, the real fun begins when you have to furnish it from scratch to meet your budget and your deadline! Here’s how to do it…

Are you thinking about starting a brand new life in France? If so, in this report we discuss whether you should take your British car with you and how you go about re-registering it if you decide you’re taking it to France

We left the UK because we chose to – we don’t care what happens in Britain, we don’t want to vote! The opinions of one Shelter Offshore writer about the push to make British expats vote in British elections

Discussing offshore bonds and examining how these investment bonds can be tax free or at least tax efficient for expatriates and even onshore Britons

The UAE offers a number of good prospects for international property buyers looking to the long term, it has been stated.

International property research firm Jones Lang LaSalle noted that the Middle East and north Africa region has seen some significant declines in its property market fortunes.

But, it said, international property buyers will be able to invest well in those places in which there is a solid long-term prospect.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi are among the places best suited to such investment, with Casablanca in Morocco and Cairo in Egypt completing the list of the best investor destinations.

Earlier this month, head of research at overseas investment company Property Frontiers Christopher Chadd suggested that the greater "financial resources" possessed by Abu Dhabi meant it would be a better investment prospect than Dubai.

Two-bedroom rental properties in high demand among foreign workers constitute the best prospect in Dubai just now, he suggested.

Written by Jamie Musk

France is an easier place for international property buyers to make a purchase in, it has been stated.

Director of overseas mortgage brokers Conti Clare Nessling told the Independent that the country has a greater mortgage availability than most because of its different approach to banking.

"They [French banks] certainly haven’t taken the extreme view that most UK lenders did. Throughout the credit crunch we’ve still been able to get 100 per cent mortgages in France for loans over €250,000 (£230,000)," she stated.

Around four out of five mortgages in the country are fixed-rate deals, the paper noted, suggesting this adds to the stability of the market.

France has seen house prices rising recently, with prices up 3.9 per cent in the second quarter of the year, according to the French National Association of Real Estate Agents.

Earlier this month, France’s leading mortgage lender BNP Paribas predicted that Britons would make up a fifth of the total number of French property transactions this year, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Written by Tom Britten