Indians have begun to vote in the world's largest election,.

It involves an electorate of 815M people. The ballot comprises nine rounds and will take five weeks, and results are due on May 16. The favorite to win is the Bharatiya Janata Party led by Narendra Modi, who has business support. Hopes that he can form a stable coalition and revive India's moribund economy have boosted the country's markets recently.

NHB is considering a proposal to allow lenders to provide up to 90% of the property value as home loan.

As per a leading financial daily, the National Housing Bank is considering a proposal to allow lenders to provide up to 90% of the property value as home loan. The proposal is meant for loans above Rs 20 lakh with a mortgage guarantee cover. A mortgage guarantee cover is nothing but an insurance policy which compensates lenders or investors for losses in the event of a mortgage loan default. Under such an arrangement, a housing finance company enters into a contract with a mortgage guarantee company at the time of loan origination.

Higher loan to value ratios backed with such guarantees are expected to boost the growth in the housing finance space. More importantly it's a win-win situation for the parties involved. That's because it's a margin driver for the housing finance company. And such a mortgage guarantee-backed securitization deal favours the lender who bags the deal. For bankers seeking to meet the priority sector targets, such mortgage guaranteed deals come to their rescue. Above all, it's the borrower who stands to benefit significantly as he would be able to avail a loan of Rs 90 lakh against a property value of Rs 1 cr, for instance. But on the flipside, the risk would be any compromises in due diligence, checks of creditworthiness of borrowers, fluctuation in interest rates, meltdown in real estate prices, amongst others.

The eurozone's business sector continued to enjoy broad, albeit softening, growth in March.

With the composite PMI edging down to 53.1 from 53.3 in February. Services PMI slipped to 52.2 from 52.6. Irish composite PMI hit a seven-year high and France a 31-month peak, but German growth softened. Still, the eurozone business sector enjoyed its best quarter for three years in Q1, and the surveys indicate GDP growth of 0.5%.European shares were mixed at the time of writing ahead of an ECB policy announcement later today, when the central bank is expected to keep interest rates at 0.25%. There are some hopes that the bank could take easing measures to ensure that the eurozone doesn't slip into deflation. Asian shares were also mixed, while U.S. stock futures were higher.

China has unveiled another mini-stimulus package.

As part of an attempt to stabilize slowing growth and maintain confidence. The announcement comes even as the government looks to reform the economy so that it relies less on the state sector. The program includes selling 150B yuan ($24.6B) in bonds for railway construction, improved housing for the low paid, and tax relief for struggling small companies.

Janet Yellen has been seen as the central banker who will toe in line with the predecessor Ben Bernanke. From day one, she has supported the Federal Reserve attempts to make the liquidity scenario easier to support employment. It now seems that she is still not satisfied with the billions the US Fed has already pumped into the economy. As per Bloomberg, Yellen believes that the Fed has not done enough to combat unemployment. This certainly sounds ridiculous after having held interest rates near zero for more than five years. And at the same time pumping up its balance sheet to US$ 4.23 trillion with bond purchases. Fed chief Yellen is now inclined to keep interest rates low for a prolonged period to boost employment. Unemployment in the US was 6.7% in February, up from the 6.6% level in January 2014 that was the lowest since October 2008. While we do not think the Fed chief's decision holds much water it could certainly mean more cheap money coming into emerging markets.

Eurozone manufacturing PMI slipped.

 PMI slipped to 53 in March from 53.2 in February as French PMI returned to expansion territory and hit a 33-month high. Spain and Ireland continued to roar ahead, but German growth eased and Greece dipped back into contraction. The survey indicates that production rose 1% in Q1 and GDP 0.5%. Meanwhile, eurozone unemployment held steady at 11.9% in February, coming in below consensus of 12%.

PMI data from China has painted a mixed picture.

The country's manufacturing sector, with the official gauge, which focuses on larger state-owned enterprises, edging up to 50.3 in March from 50.2 in February. The HSBC index, which gives more weight to smaller private companies, slipped to 48 from 48.5. HSBC says that its reading confirms the weakness of domestic demand and that it implies 1Q GDP growth of below the annual goal of 7.5%.