www.ntv.co.ke Tenants living in urban areas, especially in Nairobi should prepare to pay higher rents. This was the key highlight of the recently released property market index survey conducted by Hass Consult covering the second quarter of 2012. The report shows that rent in urban areas has increased ten times compared to two years ago which the report attributes to an increased demand for housing. In the same breath, the report indicates that fewer Kenyans are taking up mortgages with a good number of people preferring to pay rent which the company attributes to the high interest rates offered by financial institutions.

Increasing number of Sri Lankan students traveling overseas for education The cycle of closures in Sri Lanka universities during the mid and late 90's, created a sudden boom of traveling overseas for study. Another thing that followed was a large number of new graduates finding employment elsewhere. The reasons are conflict, lack of opportunity and political instability. On the other, lack of employment opportunities for some specialized fields is further complicating the problem. In addition to this, Sri Lanka is facing extremely high rate of inflation which is resulting in a high cost of living. While Sri Lanka being a third world country, it could not provide salary scales equal to international rates to those who've paid large amounts of money for their education in other countries. While economy is struggling due to bad policy, but some of the smart minds of the country are moving away. And while it would be a warm and nice feeling to ask them to stay out of patriotism, Sri Lanka Govt. also need to take steps to stem the flux of talent to other countries. Malawi struggling hard to secure its economic independence Despite government's efforts to boost the economic image of the country to global investors, economic freedom in Malawi remains poor. The legislatures have failed miserably to pass economic bills that would have made Malawi more competitive on the international trade arena. Even politicians have delayed the passing of 2008/9 budget, which has created a ...

The value of Kenya's shilling has plummeted, interest rates are through the roof, and inflation has soared to almost 20 per cent. The country's economy is suffering and analysts say it is all linked to the country's political cycle as it rolls towards elections in 2012. In a year far more turbulent than even Greece's, the economy has squeezed thousands of companies into a corner. Al Jazeera's Peter Greste reports from the capital, Nairobi.

www.ntv.co.ke NTV Business Agenda looks into the weak shilling, who's responsible and the role of the CBK and Treasury in getting the economy back to it's feet.