Video: Recession Gives True Loves Something to Be Happy About: PNC Christmas Price Index Shows Modest 1.8 Percent Increase
30 November 2009 - 10:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
-Cost of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' Song Items Reflects
Consumer Inflation Trends; Interactive Web Site Provides Teachers
and Students with Insights on U.S. Economy- PITTSBURGH, Nov. 30
/PRNewswire/ -- Thanks to the weak economy in 2009 the PNC
Christmas Price Index increased by a modest 1.8 percent compared to
last year in the whimsical economic analysis by PNC Wealth
Management based on the prices of gifts in the holiday classic,
"The Twelve Days of Christmas." To view the Multimedia News
Release, go to:
http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/pnc_christmaspriceindex/41055/
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091130/NY17589)
According to the 26th annual survey, the price tag for the PNC CPI
is $21,465.56 in 2009, just $385.46 more than last year. It is the
smallest increase since 2002, when the index fell 7.6 percent. The
PNC CPI exceeds the U.S. government's Consumer Price Index, the
widely used measure of inflation calculated by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, which is down 1.5 percent this year. Among the 12 gifts
in the Index, three items fell measurably from last year while five
increased in cost and four remained steady. As part of its annual
tradition, PNC Wealth Management also tabulates the "True Cost of
Christmas," which is the total cost of items gifted by a True Love
who repeats all of the song's verses. This holiday season, very
generous True Loves will receive a bargain and pay $87,402.81 for
all 364 gifts, a mere 0.9 percent increase compared to last year.
The sharp rise in gold prices proved to be the main contributor to
the dramatic 42.9 percent jump to $499.95 for the Five Gold Rings.
Typically when the value of the dollar decreases, as it has in the
last year, investors buy more gold driving up prices. The cost of
the Seven Swans-a-Swimming, which generally provide the biggest
swings from year to year in the PNC CPI, fell this year by 6.3
percent to $5,200 following last year's eye-opening 33.3 percent
rise. As the most volatile item in the Index, the swans are removed
to determine the underlying inflation or core PNC CPI, which pushed
the rate up 4.8 percent this year. Should the Fed Be Fed Up? Should
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke be concerned that the Core PNC Christmas
Price Index is running hotter than the Government's measure of
underlying inflation? Not so fast, said James Dunigan, managing
executive of investments for PNC Wealth Management. "The core
Consumer Price Index excludes volatile energy and food costs and is
generally steadier than the headline figure," Dunigan said, adding
"This year's PNC Christmas Price Index again reflects the patterns
in the broader economy. "In general, though, we saw a moderation in
the PNC CPI and the Bureau of Labor Statistics' CPI due to the
dramatic drop in energy, fuel and shipping costs. The reverse was
true last year, which showed a major spike in transportation
costs," he added. The PNC CPI's sources range from retailers to the
National Aviary in Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania Ballet Company
in Philadelphia and a retail jeweler in suburban Indianapolis.
Birds Take a Dive Declines in the cost of birds in the index were a
major factor in the moderate increase. The Partridge in a Pear Tree
is down 27.3 percent to $159.99. The partridge came in 50 percent
below last year at $10.00 and the pear tree is $149.99, off 25
percent. Also, the Six Geese-a-Laying are down a sizable 37.5
percent to $150.00. The cost of the Four Calling Birds was even
with last year at $599.96. The only birds to increase in price were
the Two Turtle Doves, which rose a paltry 1.8 percent to $55.98,
and the Three French Hens, flying up 50 percent to $45.00; the
largest percentage increase in this year's index. Another Pay Raise
for the Milkmaids As the only unskilled laborers in the PNC
Christmas Price Index, the eight Maids-a-Milking received an
automatic raise for the third straight year due to another increase
in the federal minimum wage. Before 2007, they had not received a
raise since 1997. The federal minimum wage increased this year to
$7.25 per hour, following last year's increase to $6.55. In the
last two years, the Maids-a-Milking have seen their wages rise by
$2.10 per hour, a total increase of 33 percent. Hiring the maids
this year cost $58.00, only $5.60 more than a year ago. The cost of
most performers in the index -- the Drummers Drumming ($2,475.20),
Pipers Piping ($2,284.80) and Lords-a-Leaping ($4,413.61) -- saw no
increase at all from 2008, reflecting the labor market in which the
unemployment rate rose to 10 percent after sitting around 5 percent
for much of the decade. Only the price for the Ladies Dancing is
higher this year, up 15 percent to $5,473.07. Cyber Prices: The
Cost of Convenience For those True Loves who prefer the convenience
of shopping online, PNC Wealth Management calculates the cost of
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" gifts purchased on the Internet.
This year, the trends identified in the traditional index are
repeated in the Internet version, with the core rates significantly
more than total rates. True Loves will pay a grand total of
$31,434.85 to buy the items online. That is less expensive than
last year, however it is still about $10,000 more than in this
year's traditional index. "In general, Internet prices are higher
than their non-Internet counterparts because of shipping costs for
birds and the convenience factor of shopping online," Dunigan said.
Special Present: Updated Web Site For a historical look at PNC's
Index, please visit our updated Web site at
http://www.pncchristmaspriceindex.com/. This year's enhanced web
site features young children representing the items in the song as
Dunigan narrates. Each year, educators across the country use the
Christmas Price Index to teach economic trends to students of all
ages. With that in mind, this year's site includes interactive
activities, annual results and PNC CPI trends in a Flash
presentation, MP3 download, games and much more. For the third
straight year, Jim Dunigan will present an interactive live online
video chat about this year's results at 10:30 a.m. ET on Dec. 17,
2009. Educators who visit the site will also find sample lesson
plans on the Christmas Price Index from The Stock Market Game(TM)
(SMG), a program of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets
Association Foundation for Investor Education
(http://www.sifma.org/education). SMG is America's premier
educational stock-market simulation. Available in all 50 states for
grades 4-12, the SMG program teaches children core academic and
investment skills. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
(http://www.pnc.com/) is one of the nation's largest diversified
financial services organizations providing retail and business
banking; residential mortgage banking; specialized services for
corporations and government entities, including corporate banking,
real estate finance and asset-based lending; wealth management;
asset management and global fund services. Press Contact: Alan
Aldinger (412) 768-3711 Meghan Cole (412) 762-5654
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091130/NY17589
http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/pnc_christmaspriceindex/41055DATASOURCE:
PNC Financial Services Group CONTACT: Alan Aldinger, ,
+1-412-768-3711, Meghan Cole, , +1-412-762-5654 Web Site:
http://www.pnc.com/
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