Tag Archive: Big mac index

The US Dollar Is Now Overvalued Against Almost Every Currency In The World

2017-01-24

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2017-01-24

World Map
In September 1986, The Economist weekly newspaper published its first-ever “Big Mac Index”. It was a light-hearted way for the paper to gauge whether foreign currencies are over- or under-valued by comparing the prices of Big Macs around the world. In theory, the price of a Big Mac in Rio de Janeiro should be the same as a Big Mac in Cairo or Toronto.

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Swiss franc less overvalued according to latest Big Mac index

2017-01-16

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2017-01-16

Big-Mac
On 12 January 2017, the Economist came out with its latest Big Mac index. Also known as the burger benchmark, the index compares the price of a Big Mac around the world. This catchy, if highly incomplete means of comparing the relative purchasing power of different currencies, uses the United States and the US$ as its base. Countries where Big Macs cost less than in the United States (in US$ terms) have weak currencies, and those where they are...

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Who Has To Work The Longest To Afford An iPhone?

2016-12-13

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2016-12-13

Time Required for Iphone 6
How many hours must you work to buy a new iPhone? It varies dramatically around the world, reflecting disparities in productivity and purchasing power. According to a recent report by UBS that aims to measure well-being by estimating how many minutes workers in various countries must work to afford either an iphone, a Big Mac, a kilo of bread or a kilo of rice, the average worker in Zurich or New York can buy an iPhone 6 in under three working days.

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(5.6.1) Crowther’s Balances and Imbalances of Payments: METI Paper

Geoffrey Crowther
The former chief editor of "The Economist" Geoffrey Crowther published a great work on the development of balance of payments and current accounts over the long-term. It divides development into six phases, which are analogous to Shakespeare's seven phases of life. The seven stages are: Young debtor nation, Mature debtor nation, Debt repayment nation, Young creditor nation, Mature creditor nation, Credit disposition /Asset Liquidation nation and...

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(2.2) Purchasing Power Parity: Big Mac and Starbucks Tall Latte

big mac index
The following table compares the Big Mac and the Starbucks Tall Latte index among different countries. It explains the issues with these measurements.

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Ist der Franken überbewertet? Kaufkraftparitäten

2012-12-01

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2012-12-01

  Nach dem starken Anstieg des Frankens in den letzten Jahren, sagten Ökonomen wie O’Neilly von Goldman Sachs oder die der Schweizerischen Nationalbank (SNB), dass die Schweizer Währung überbewertet wäre. Einige benutzen den “Big Mac Index”, den OECD-Kaufkraftsparitätsindex oder Kaufkraftparitäten auf der Basis von Konsumentenpreisen als Beweis. Wir zeigen, dass aber nur die Kaufkraftparität aufgrund von …

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Exchange-rate targets: Francly wrong

2011-09-08

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2011-09-08

Swiss frank per euro
WHEN the going gets tough, the tough buy Swiss francs. That was true in the 1970s, when the Swiss were forced to impose negative interest rates on foreign depositors. And it has been true in recent years, with Switzerland's currency rising by 43% against the euro between the start of 2010 and mid-August this year.

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