We are about two weeks into our trip. Some very noticeable differences indeed from last year.
Tokyo seemed less expensive. Jobs are around and more people are working. It is still not running on all cylinders economically per our friend there. We stayed in the Takenawa district of Tokyo. It was nice to walk downtown at night with no sense of danger. Can't say that for most places.
Seattle is still economically thriving. The unemployment rate has been stable in Seattle but in outlying areas the rate is going up. Tacoma is at 7.3%. Thirty miles distance but totally different labor markets.
The prices of everything have really jumped. Ground beef is $4.16 a pound on the cheap end and $5.26 a pound on the opposite end of the spectrum. This is the regular stuff, not the premium. Beef in general is way higher. But I have noticed high prices on most items. A loaf of French bread from the store bakery used to be $0.99 or so and it was $3.19 yesterday. Cereals are much more expensive. But, there is no inflation as I am told. It all depends.........
The price inflation is not just in the USA either. A Marriott hamburger in Manila is over $15.00. Good burger by the way. The wife and I split the meal, burger and fries with a nice garden salad and soft drinks for just over $28.00.
I stopped in to the Apple Store today to buy a iPhone 6 and to get a new battery for my old 4S. Took an hour or so. The store was busy for a mid week day. One table was full of two to four yr old children playing with iPads. The next generation of Apple consumers. The service was good and in fact the nice young lady stayed with me for a half hour while my phone uploaded my Cloud info. Very patient. We talked about the business. They are eager for the watch to start selling. All the employees were happy and seemed to enjoy their job, unlike most places where employees are drones going through their motions. As a older person, I enjoyed the banter as it could be assumed that Apple is a young company full of young people. In fact, several older people (50 yrs and up) were in the store. According to the sales person, iPhone 6 sales continue to amaze. A lot of people are buying the Plus model which is a surprise. I bought the standard size. The new MacBook models are selling well also.
I have noticed a general increase in taxes as well. In some areas of WA, the sales tax is approaching 10%. Generally we are paying 9.8%. Fees and tolls are also rising. There is a general sense that it is becoming more and more expensive for everyday things. This is not new but it is much more noticeable this year than in years past for us.
A couple of weeks to go before we head back to SE Asia. I will check in from time to time until we are back home.
All the best,
John.
Comments
A lot of Chinese are coming over which adds to business. Chinese just love to gamble. This complex allows smoking which might be attracting former Macau gamblers since they went no smoking in their casinos. The smoking keeps both of us out of the casinos but we do not gamble anyway.
Manila is becoming another Asia gambling destination. The City of Dreams is another resort complex .
i keep getting bumped off with some owl banner.
did you mean length? you are allowed 10,000 characters per comment.
Just wondered what the owl thing was.
It's still the worst airport on the planet.
You have had house prices in this country go up quite a bit in a lot of areas, but you have had reports from Zillow and elsewhere talking about how many homeowners who bought at the peak may never get out from being underwater (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-20/underwater-homeowners-here-stay-zillow-says). Broadly economically, I think there are a lot of areas in this country that are still absolutely hurting and in many cases, these areas are a short drive from areas that are doing well or very well.
How are you liking the iPhone 6? I decided to move from the Nexus 5 to the Galaxy S5 the other day. Definitely a nice upgrade, better screen, camera, better battery life, faster, waterproof (as long as the charger cover is on and the phone is sealed because it does have a removable back cover) and removable battery (which I'd missed on the Nexus line.)
As for the Plus, I just can't imagine carrying a phone around that's much bigger than the Nexus5/Galaxy S5. Looked at the Nexus 6 and Note 4 at TMobile, just too much phone. Saw the new Galaxy S6, metal body (which looked nice) but no longer waterproof or removable battery.
Interesting to hear about Resorts World. I love the Genting stocks in theory, Resorts World Manila looks freaking amazing, and yet the stocks have done terribly (the ADR shares for the parent co are about half of what they were in 2011.)
Glad your trip has been going well and thank you for sharing some details. Hope the rest of the trip goes great.
In theory, Genting should be doing great but it is not. Other entities like Crown Melco are also in the game. I think that stock is listed on the Australia market. One of Australia's Packer family runs that company.
Donald Jr. LOL.
I also still think beacons will happen. There's too much potential in being able to lead people around a store - I know you enjoy Diet Coke, if you head to aisle 1 we have a sale on that today, etc etc.
I'm curious to see how well Samsung Pay takes off (or not) with the Galaxy 6. The Galaxy 5 didn't sell well at all (great phone tho), so it'll be interesting to see if they win anyone back.
Regards,
Ted
>> Food inflation does continue, but yeah, that's not part of the CPI
Yes and no; see first entry in this FQ list:
http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpiqa.htm
I too find the 6 wonderful, actually I have a 6+ ... easier on my eyes.
Service at the the iStore here in San Luis Obispo same top rate experience.
Honestly, have not had much opportunity to use ApplePay ... hopefully Scott is right and that picks up.
Keep traveling well.
c
https://youtube.com/watch?v=KYvjuWg06l4
The parts are inexpensive and pretty easy to do.
The businesses are raising prices. The money has to come from somewhere? We haven't seen much in the way of wage inflation. This might be one way to get it started. Along with the rising food prices, going out to eat could get expensive going forward.
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Restaurants-add-surcharges-hike-prices-to-a-298542821.html?mobile=y&clmob=y&c=n