Part 2 - South Asian Daily

NISSAN INTRODUCING
THE SWAY CONCEPT
Models showcases fashion designer Anupama Dayal`s creations during Amazon India Fashion Week in New Delhi (IANS).
National average home price forecast to rise by 2%
to $416,200 in 2015; 1.9% to $424,100 in 2016
OTTAWA - The fur ther decline in oil prices since CREA's last forecast
has shaken consumer confidence in the Prairies, pushing potential
homebuyers to the sidelines and prompting more homeowners to put
their home on the market. This has led to a rapid shift in market
balance in Alber ta, and to a lesser extent, Saskatchewan. Annual
sales in these provinces are expected to come in well below elevated
levels posted last year, with small declines in average residential
prices in 2015.
Additionally, the Canadian dollar has weakened fur ther against the
U.S. dollar, mor tgage rates have declined and the U.S. economy has
strengthened since CREA's last forecast, which taken together are
expected to benefit economic and job growth in other provinces. Accordingly, CREA has upwardly revised its forecast for sales activity
for much of the rest of the country.
The balance between supply and demand continues to tighten in British Columbia and Ontario. These are the only two provinces where
tight supply relative to demand is expected to result in average price
gains that surpass inflation this year.
By contrast, average prices in Quebec and the Atlantic region are
expected to remain relatively stable, as sales deplete elevated levels
of supply.
On balance, the forecast for national sales has been revised lower,
reflecting downward revisions to the outlook for sales in Alber ta.
SHRUTI HAASAN
NEHA DHUPIA
National sales are now projected to reach 475,700 units in 2015,
representing an annual decline of 1.1 per cent. This would place annual activity slightly above but still broadly in line with its 10-year
average (Char t A).
British Columbia is projected to post the largest annual increase in
activity in 2015 (+4.9 per cent) followed closely by Nova Scotia
(+3.7 per cent), Quebec (+2.5 per cent), New Brunswick (+2.5 per
cent), Ontario (+1.9 per cent), and Prince Edward Island (+1.4 per
cent). These numbers represent upward revisions to CREA's previous forecast. Alber ta is expected to post the largest annual decline in
sales this year (-19.2 per cent), though the trend for activity is expected to begin recovering from a weak star t to the year as consumer
confidence recovers. Sales are also forecast to decline on an annual
basis in Saskatchewan (-11.2 per cent), and Manitoba (-2.2 per cent).
The national average home price is now forecast to rise by two per
cent to $416,200 in 2015. Only British Columbia (+3.4 per cent) and
Ontario (+2.5 per cent) are forecast to see gains in excess of the
national increase.
Prices are projected to remain largely stable elsewhere, with increases or decreases of around one per cent or less this year. The
exception is Alber ta, where average price is forecast to fall by 3.4 per
cent, reflecting a pullback in sales for luxury proper ties compared to
homes in more affordable price segments.
ELLI AVRAM
GENEVA - Innovative design and product planning gave bir th to the
Qashqai and Juke, two of the biggest automotive success stories in
recent years. Now the company has applied the same radical thinking to one of the most important sectors of the market: the compact
hatchback.
Unveiled at the Geneva Show, the Sway is a glimpse at how a future
generation of compact Nissan models might look if the company's
striking new design language was applied to a European hatchback. It
is a concept car designed especially to appeal to European tastes: it
is seen as emotional, edgy and exciting.
Sway has been designed to shake up the compact hatchback segment, traditionally a conservative sector of the market. With its swooping lines, striking nose, elegantly simple interior and bold use of
sophisticated colours, the concept is a daring and emotional design.
There is an overall sense of unity and harmony... but with edginess
unexpected in this market segment. The interior, for example, applies
techniques more usually seen in industrial architecture such as structural aluminum elements to signify both simplicity and strength, but
also the attention to detail and use of colour and materials associated
with premium goods.
The exterior, meanwhile, blends four highly distinctive elements - the
V-motion grille, floating roof, boomerang lamps and kicked-up C-pillar - to shape a new design signature that has already been seen on
the Nissan Lannia Concept that was presented last year in Beijing at
Auto China 2014, as well as the new Murano recently launched in
North America. The Sway represents the first time this new design
language has been expressed on a compact hatchback, while future
Nissan models in different market segments in all regions will follow
this styling direction.
The Sway's character line begins with the V-motion grille, mounted
low at the front between twin V-shaped quar ter bumpers. The grille is
the star ting point for a bold contour that curves over the hood and front
wheels before dipping dramatically towards the center of the front
door. It then sweeps upwards towards the rear of the car, giving the
side profile an almost sensuous form.
DEEPIKA PADUKONE
FOR BEST DEALS AND INFORMATION SEE PAGE 36
KATRINA KAIF
PICS: IANS
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Low family income affects brain
development of children
New York, (IANS) Low family income can affect the brain development of children, new research says.
The study, led by researchers at the Children's Hospital Los
Angeles (CHLA) and Columbia University Medical Centre
(CUMC), was published online in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
"While in no way implying that a child's socio-economic circumstances lead to immutable changes in brain development
or cognition, our data suggest that wider access to resources
likely afforded by the more affluent may lead to differences in a
child's brain structure," said Elizabeth Sowell from CHLA.
In the largest study of its kind to date, the researchers looked at
1,099 typically developing individuals between the ages of 3
and 20 years. Associations between socio-economic factors
(including parent education and family income) and measurements of surface area of the brain were drawn from demographic
and developmental history questionnaires, as well as high-resolution brain MRIs. The findings showed that income was associated with brain sur face area. "Specifically, among children
from the lowest-income families, small differences in income
were associated with relatively large differences in surface area
in a number of regions of the brain, associated with skills impor tant for academic success," said study first author Kimberly
G. Noble from CUMC.
How maternal diet influences
offspring's body weight
New Delhi, (IANS) The four th season of India Runway Week
(IRW) is to star t from April 10 and besides giving the new
trends in the fashion and lifestyle domain, the three-day event
will encourage the fashion education perspective.
Fashionista School of Fashion Technology, New Delhi, has
joined hands with Indian Federation for Fashion Development
(IFFD) for the event which will be held at Hotel Opulent,
Chhattarpur, here. And the association promises great platform
for students to understand fashion and throw light on the
business of fashion.
"India Runway Week is a great platform for designers and to
understand fashion this is good platform for the fashion students. They will get explicit information with all real time
experience," Neetu Pavan Manikatalia, managing director,
Fashionista, said in a statement.
The students will experience the pressure of the fashion week
and will witness designers' interaction with domestic and
international buyers and will learn their respective buyer
landscapes, something which is ver y impor tant to grow in the
industr y. "This collaboration between fashion and education is
an attempt to integrate knowledge sharing among the young
Indian fashion fraternity," Avinash Pathania, founder, IFFD, said.
New York, (IANS) Consuming a high-fat diet during pregnancy
and lactation may put your offspring at higher risk of obesity
later in life, a recent research has found.
The findings, published in the Journal of Physiology, showed
that the mechanism that helps limit the amount of food one eats
could malfunction in the offspring as a result of maternal highfat diet.
"It is time that we star t to take seriously the idea that obesity is,
in par t, a brain disease," said lead investigator Kirsteen Browning, associate professor of neural and behavioural sciences at
the Penn State College of Medicine.
She noted that not all people who are obese had mothers who
ate high-fat diets when they were pregnant, and not all mothers
who eat high-fat diets will have obese children.
"It is just one more risk factor. An understanding of the biological mechanisms underpinning obesity could help stem the tide
of obesity," she added.
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AIFW: WHEN STYLISTS,
DESIGNERS TURNED MODELS
FOR 11.11/ ELEVEN.ELEVEN
New Delhi (IANS): It was a show unique in its own way as
some of the known stylists, designers and editors of fashion
magazines turned models for brand 11.11/ eleven.eleven at the
ongoing Amazon India Fashion Week (AIFW). Designer Shani
Himanshu and Mia Morikawa feel that they cater to the common man and hence this different presentation.
"We design for people like them hence rather than having an
imaginary person in mind, we thought of these people. We usually don't know models so it was fun to have this show,"
Himanshu told IANS post the show.
Added Morikawa: "They are the kind of the people who have
their own identity so it was not difficult at all to work with them.
Also our designs are for common people hence it would be
great if get someone like them who inspire many commoners."
The designer duo represented their autumn/winter theme on
the third day of fashion gala that started Wednesday at Pragati
Maidan here.
Some of the faces who walked for them were Lauren Massoulier,
Rashmi Kaleka, Elton Fernandez, Rakesh Thakore, Divya Singh,
Asit Bhat, Jeet Thayil, Nitin Chauhan, Malika Verma, Ameet
Sikka alone with designers themselves who represented their
own range on ramp.
There were sari pants, Egyptian cotton shir ts teamed well with
high-waisted black silk trousers, shor t kimono coat, mini shor t
dress, summer jackets, trousers in cotton linen - all dyed in
natural indigo, long kimonos, parsi jackets and many more.
There was also heavy display of bandhini and miniature tie dye on
clothes along with block printing.
"We have used our signature textile: a selection of fine silks vegetable
dyed and hand-painted contrasted with our anchor handlooms rustic
khadi denim and khadi kala cotton," said the designers, who shared
their show with another designer label titled Eka.
Titled "seekers-keepers", the collection draws inspiration from within.
"I sought stories from my friends, across the world... small villages,
big cities, travellers, gatherers, socialites, writers, readers, homemakers, a few very popular & others- loners, some giving up on all
accumulate knowledge, some still on a learning curve, but all of them
holding on to some smaller experiences, stories that made them,"
said designer Rina Singh
Wrapped in pearly off-whites and rustic tones, the collection
works with materials like wool, silk, linen, treated-boiled merinos, chambray herringbone, thick jacquard in merino wool
and chunky basket weaves, block printed pattern overlay checks
and stripes combine to create a story of the collection.
CHITRANGADA SINGH AND MANISHA KOIRALA DURING THE GRAND FINALE OF FBB FEMINA MISS INDIA 2015 IN MUMBAI (IANS).
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