interestrateripoff Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8383301/Apps-and-dating-agency-fees-in-new-inflation-basket.html The latest snapshot shows Britain to be ever more technologically savvy, buying smart phone apps and sophisticated gadgets, while trying to become ever healthier.In has come dried fruit for the first time – once just an ingredient for puddings, and now a popular snack for weight-watching office workers. Out have gone cigarette vending machines and four-packs of lager. Smartphones, such as the increasingly ubiquitous iPhone made by Apple, as well as Android phones, have been included alongside their more pedestrian cousin, the mobile phone. Apps, or applications, also make it onto the list. These little bits of software on smartphones, which are often free but usually cost less than £1, allow users to play games, trades shares, buy clothes or receive weather forecasts while on the move. They replace mobile phone downloads, which were, for a brief period, very popular a few years ago. Possibly the most modern innovation to make the basket of goods is the fee charged by internet dating agencies. Once considered the last resort for desperate singletons, web dating sites have become ever more mainstream. Mintel, the market research firm, predicts that this market is increasing sales by 20 per cent a year, with 5.2 million British consumers signed up to one of these sites. Excellent news I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trampa501 Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Just so easy to rig the figures, isn't it? Choose a recent electronic gadget new to the market, that will almost always come down in price after 6 months or a year.... I wonder if they've thought about taking food, transport costs etc completely out of the "Inflation basket"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecrashingisles Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 You forgot to mention champagne. (I kid you not - see Alphaville) There's just so much to celebrate it's become a staple part of the British diet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledgehead Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 (edited) as a matter of interest, anyone know how "ubiquitous" the iphone is on these shores? ... okay answering this myself by degrees: "it is a safe bet to say that total UK sales are between 2.25m and 2.5m iphones." - UK iphone sales figures - February 5, 2010 UK population ~ 60 million. iphone sales / capita 2010 = 4% "ubiquitous" - –adjective - existing or being everywhere, especially at the same time; omnipresent Edited March 15, 2011 by Sledgehead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver surfer Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Just so easy to rig the figures, isn't it? Choose a recent electronic gadget new to the market, that will almost always come down in price after 6 months or a year.... Not really. What goes in the basket is determined by what people are actually buying. And as well as food and petrol and train tickets people are buying new electronic gadgets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoWolves Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 I've had an iPhone since the 3Gs and I've never seen the price of an app go up, only down. Clearly choosing items that will give them the result they want to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Have they got rid of the crap that no one buys yet? Eg. bread, milk, meat, fruit & veg, etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Peter Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Just so easy to rig the figures, isn't it? Choose a recent electronic gadget new to the market, that will almost always come down in price after 6 months or a year.... I wonder if they've thought about taking food, transport costs etc completely out of the "Inflation basket"? The US have already done it - "Core inflation" ignores the trivialities of life such as food and energy: Decline of the Empire One of the biggest canards ever to be foisted on the American people is the notion that removing food and energy from the price indexes provides a clearer picture of inflation. In reality, it’s just the opposite. The so-called “core” rate of inflation (the headline price indexes minus food and energy) is grossly misleading. It was designed in the 1970s to take our eyes off what’s really happening to prices so the Federal Reserve could maintain an ultra-easy monetary policy. Guess what? This is exactly what the Fed is using it for today. Taking food and energy out of the price indexes was the brainstorm of the then-Fed chairman, Arthur Burns. He was looking for a rationale to keep policy easy in order to help Richard Nixon’s bid to be re-elected president, back in 1972. Burns reasoned that no amount of money created by the Fed could produce one bushel of wheat or one barrel of oil. Their prices related mainly to such exogenous factors as the weather and geopolitics. As such, they have nothing to do with the state of the economy. The professorial Burns managed to convince the Congress, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which issues these indexes, the press and his fellow economists that this was the right way to look at prices. Not surprisingly, “core” inflation took hold and is widely used to this day. Peter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledgehead Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Decline of the Empire Peter. No Natalie Wood? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 No ipod, pad or phone....and no, quality of life is no worse off for it.....it's good to be different. What if you don't buy what is in the basket, does that mean your personal inflation rate higher or lower than the norm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulfar Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Sorry is this the iStraw that broke the camels back. With this move it is undeniable that the figures are ********. Are PC's in the basket because there are a hell of a lot more of those sold in the UK. Its almost like free advertising for Apple. They can now put it in their adds that an iPod is an essential part of life. Maybe the idiots doing the basket of goods has a bad apple among them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezerinno Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Dried fruit is about as healthy as eating a sugar cube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lander Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 what's the hooha about iphones?, they are sh it, a, because they are cumbersome ruddy things and it's like carrying a full size calculator about in your pocket, b, internet browsing speed is like being on dialup, c, the keypad was designed for elves, and d, it's ridiculously expensive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
200p Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Yes, what about the fees for joining facebook and twitter or registering a email account. We all use that. Don't we? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compukit UK101 Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 If they can't buy bread, let them buy iPhone apps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattley Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 I've had an iPhone since the 3Gs and I've never seen the price of an app go up, only down. Clearly choosing items that will give them the result they want to see. Oh it really is transparent isn't it. Also the stuff that's going out like cig machines and a four pack of lager, especially as if they introduce the 50p per unit rule a four pack of Special Brew will go up from £4.50 if I buy 2 at my local corner shop to £9.00. How heavily weighted are these things? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19 year mortgage 8itch Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 It never ceases to amaze me how little of the inflation index basket finds its way into my own shopping basket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Loo Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 I wonder how this will work, PlentyOfFish.com the most popular dating website in the world is free! not only that, you get another months and your money back if they fail to find a partner for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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