I don't know when or how often I'll get back to the Newsgroups in the
next week or so, so I'd like to thank -everyone- because without you
these forums wouldn't exist, or be the quality sources of experiences,
hurdles, ideas and solutions that they are.
May you all have the merriest of seasons, whatever your celebrations be.
and just to put things in a perspective, on a commercial note:
The price of True Love:
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From ABC (Aust) News:
Gold rings cheaper, swans-a-swimming more expensive
By Matthew Liddy
The price of 'True Love' has risen this Christmas, according to United
States economists who have analysed the cost of five gold rings, four
calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a
pear tree.
For the past 19 years, PNC Advisors has produced a tongue-in-cheek
Christmas Price Index based on the current prices for everything the
'True Love' buys in the song The 12 Days of Christmas.
The Total Christmas Price Index, representing the combined cost of the
goods and services, is up 16 per cent this year, with the price of the
swans showing a particularly steep climb.
"Unlike 2002, when swans took a significant dive in price, these graceful
feathered friends have bounced back to their 2001 level of $US500 a
piece, up from $US300 last year, according to the Philadelphia Zoo," the
PNC report said.
"The four calling birds are also flying high at $US400, more than a 26
per cent increase from last year."
PNC has also put together its True Cost of Christmas index, which
examines the total cost of all the items in the Christmas carol,
including all its repetitions.
This year, the 364 items total $US65,264, up from $US54,951. That is a
rise of almost 19 per cent, smashing the previous record increase of 8.4
per cent in 1987.
Jeff Kleintop, chief investment strategist for PNC Advisors, says the
index's trends mirror changes in the wider US economy.
"The index reflects the broader trend of productivity growth in the US
economy that has driven prices lower on goods while allowing prices for
services to rise modestly," Mr Kleintop said in a statement.
"Whereas in the mid-1980s the cost of the goods in the song dominated the
index, the trend over time has been toward lower goods prices, such as
the pear tree and higher prices for skilled labour, such as the pipers,"
he said.
"The abundance of cheap labour in countries such as China have
contributed toward increased pressure on US manufacturers to outsource
their unskilled labour overseas and evolve toward higher-skilled areas,
to maintain profitability.
"Unfortunately, the unskilled maids haven't managed an increase in price
for their services in many years."
Among the goods prices to drop were the five gold rings, down 5.6 per
cent, and the pear tree, down 28.6 per cent from last year.
The discounts were offset by the dancers, pipers and drummers, who saw
big jumps in the cost of their services over 2002.
"We have seen a record increase in the 2003 index, possibly indicating
that the fears over deflation that we saw last year may begin to recede,
as general price levels begin to pick up and the outlook returns to one
suggesting the economic recovery may be sustainable," Mr Kleintop said.
Christmas Price Index
http://www.pncbank.com/12days/
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Have a Merry One,
and a prosperous and fulfilling New Year.
Henry Craven.