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Paris -- October 3, 2006 -- The Lafarge group, a global leader in building materials, has selected the MySQL database to operate the real-time management of the different sales and dispatch phases of its Aggregates & Concrete business. The system is already installed at over 100 quarries, with plans to service up to 250 production sites in Europe by the end of autumn 2006. The Lafarge group (Euronext: LG, NYSE: LR) operates in 76 countries and employs over 80,000 people. Its business is split into four divisions (Cement, Aggregates & Concrete, Roofing, Plaster), with Lafarge holding the position of world leader in each of these areas. The operations of the Aggregates & Concrete division amounted to over 5 billion euro in 2005, with a workforce of 20,000. This division recently developed a database application called Quartz, which uses the open source database MySQL and enables real-time control of the various phases in the sales and dispatch process of its materials.
When it comes to stopping illegal immigration, there's little that the Forsyth County commissioners can do. But that hasn't stopped them from arguing about it. A one-page proposal on immigration that surfaced last week, which the county attorney acknowledges would have no practical effect, is generating a fierce debate among the commissioners about race, immigration and the county's proper jurisdiction. It also is dividing the board along political lines. The proposal, pushed by Democratic Commissioner Beaufort Bailey and discussed publicly for the first time Thursday, says that prospective county employees must "provide adequate documentation" of citizenship or legal residency. It also directs the county manager to organize staff training on federal immigration laws.
Given the Pittsburgh region's slow pace of employment growth and declining population, it's not all surprising that the housing market is due for a slowdown. "The area's weak rate of household formation limits growth of housing demand, and higher mortgage rates have helped further soften demand growth," noted the August economic forecast for the seven-county region by the Economics Division of PNC Financial Services Group. PNC is projecting a 5.4 percent decline in housing construction for 2006 -- to 5,300 units versus 5,601 units last year -- based on its analysis of housing permit application data from the U.S. Census Bureau, according to Richard Moody, a PNC regional economist. That includes a drop of about 8 percent -- 4,300 units versus 4,672 units -- in the larger, single-family segment of the market covering Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
ETA Star, a leading property developer in the UAE, has announced the launch of a Home Buying Tips campaign, a first-time initiative from a developer in the region. The company has started the campaign on every Fridays issue of Gulf News which will feature a valuable tip for prospective home buyers given by ETA Stars Home Planning Advisor. To complement this campaign, the property developers website www.etastar.com, now has a Home Advisor segment with a interactive section, where all queries related to buying new homes will be addressed. Shyam Sunder, Manager, Marketing, ETA Star, said, This unique campaign has been designed to make home buyers aware of various quality aspects of construction and interiors that could make a big difference to them. For instance, we will be offering tips on the kind of flooring that is suitable, the choice of lighting, and so on, which the buyer often is unaware of.
RED BLUFF - A house built in 90 days - from the pouring of foundation to the handing over of the key. That's the wave of the future in home construction, according to Tuscan Homes general manager Tom Furze. He walked through the interior of a home on Faye Street Friday where just four days earlier the concrete foundation had laid exposed. The four-bedroom, two-bath, 2,300-square foot home was built in Arizona and shipped to Tehama County on the back of trucks. But this is not a manufactured home. It's modular, built in three pieces that were moved into place by a crane on Wednesday. The difference between a modular and manufactured home is like night and day, according to Furze. A modular is a stick-built home (using 2x6's), is energy-efficient and will appreciate over time.
Home construction in the Greater Toronto Area was down in September, largely because of a lull in the condominium market, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. But the agency hastened to add that the condo market tends to appear volatile when looked at on a month-to-month basis. And those numbers should soon turn around, said Jason Mercer, the CMHC's senior market analyst for the GTA. He said record numbers of pre-construction condos have been sold over the past two years, which "will convert into a greater number of condominium starts," he said. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of starts was 25,200 in September, down from 32,500 in August. "Multiple family" dwellings (mainly condos) were down 41 per cent, from 18,600 to 11,000.
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