Scott Keefer, my business parter at A Clear Direction Financial Planning, pointed out an interesting article from The Economist magazine.
It showed a comparison of iPod prices in different countries in the world. iPods are all manufactured in China by Apple.
Comparing the cost of the same product in different countries is a way of comparing the purchasing power of different economies, and therefore future currency movements. At the moment iPod prices in different parts of the world include:
- Brazil - US$328
- India - US $222
- UK - $US195
- Germany - $US192
- China - US$180 (which is where they are manufactured)
- Australia - US$172
- US - US$149
- Canada - US$144
CommSec, who are involved in putting out the index, are using it to suggest a 15% drop in the Australian dollar against the greenback.
