Whenever signs emerge to give hope for a relatively quick economic recovery, it seems that other factors pop up just as quickly to dash those hopes. This time, new statistics showing a drastic drop in consumer confidence and a similarly steep drop in prices have managed to rain on our parade.
 
Released on Friday, the monthly Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers demonstrated a decrease of 66 to 63.2 on the index used to measure consumer confidence in August. While the statistic is revealing on its own, the more important part of the equation is that most analysts expected consumer confidence …read more

To keep up with competitors and avoid bankruptcy, which has been affecting so many print media companies, the Boston Herald has decided to raise prices of the daily newspaper from 35 cents to a $1 an issue.
The price increase will take start on May 11 within the 30-mile Boston radius, though the prices outside this 30-mile area will remain the same price. Prices have already been $1 or more per issue outside of Boston.
The Sunday Herald price remains $2, while The Boston Globe will also up their prices from 75 cents to $1 for people in the city and $1 …read more

Ok, now these fuel prices are really getting on my nerves. According to this article, the price of beer is increasing in Germany now too. I’ve already seen a 30% increase in the price of a case of beer here, I don’t really need higher prices combined with the current exchange rate for my next trip.
Unfortunately, the combination of fuel prices, the housing crisis in the US and UK, and the slumping dollar appear to be finally taking their toll on other economies. Stock markets have been reeling, a number of other currencies are vulnerable, and growth appears likely to …read more

We here on the b5 business channel have been asked to post about mileage and gas, which is an inherently international topic. I’m reminded of a trip we took to Munich a few year’s back for almost four weeks, during which a good friend made available both an apartment and a car for our stay (thanks, Jean). The funny thing is, during the entire four weeks we didn’t even go near the car, let alone drive it, relying completely on Munich’s excellent public transit and the German train system. It was great.
That just goes to show, the car with the …read more

When I lived in Germany, I very rarely called home because even watching the numbers on my old phone, each one another 23 pfennigs gone, made by frugal heart drop. Now, a call from my cell phone is cheaper than the best rate I got in the bad old days, and a call from the landline is so cheap as to be almost negligible. The Economist has a chart which shows this shift quite nicely.
image from wikimedia commons