(no subject)
Now that Thanksgiving's over Christmas can begin. Never mind that the retail behemoth started it without my consent weeks ago. Christmas means lights and tinsel, peppermint and clementines, and my favorite economic indicator, even better than the Big Mac Index - The Twelve Days of Christmas.
Every year since 1984, Pittsburgh-based PNC has tallied up the cost of all the gifts in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas," from the twelve drummers drumming to the famous partridge in a pear tree. This year, buying every item on the list once will cost $18,920, up 3.1% from last year. For those committed swains who repeat all the previous verses every day the bill will come to $75,122.
"'After years of stagnation, wages for skilled workers, including the song's dancers and musicians, have increased as the labor market has tightened,' said Jeff Kleintop, chief investment strategist for PNC Wealth Management. 'Also, a decline in the housing market has dampened demand for luxury goods, such as gold rings.'"
"The nine ladies dancing are the costliest items on the list again, at $4,759. The seven swans a-singing cost $4,200. And a pear tree saw the biggest jump, going from $89.99 in 2005 to $129.99 this year.
The cheapest? As always, the partridge, still $15."
Read the AP article here.
Every year since 1984, Pittsburgh-based PNC has tallied up the cost of all the gifts in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas," from the twelve drummers drumming to the famous partridge in a pear tree. This year, buying every item on the list once will cost $18,920, up 3.1% from last year. For those committed swains who repeat all the previous verses every day the bill will come to $75,122.
"'After years of stagnation, wages for skilled workers, including the song's dancers and musicians, have increased as the labor market has tightened,' said Jeff Kleintop, chief investment strategist for PNC Wealth Management. 'Also, a decline in the housing market has dampened demand for luxury goods, such as gold rings.'"
"The nine ladies dancing are the costliest items on the list again, at $4,759. The seven swans a-singing cost $4,200. And a pear tree saw the biggest jump, going from $89.99 in 2005 to $129.99 this year.
The cheapest? As always, the partridge, still $15."
Read the AP article here.