Inflation in Singapore Hits 6.7% for Feb 2008!!!
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Originally posted by Uncle Ver SG:
"Japan's consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in a decade in February as companies passed on higher costs of oil and food to households.
Core consumer prices, which exclude fruit, fish and vegetables, climbed 1 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 0.8 percent gain in January, the government's statistics bureau said today in Tokyo. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 0.9 percent increase."
From Bloomberg. Wah 1% Inflation.
I would have thought that Japanese will have no problem absorbing the cost increase because their products are already priced way above the rest of the world. -
I would have thought that Japanese will have no problem absorbing the cost increase because their products are already priced way above the rest of the world.
how u noe prod. price abv world?
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Originally posted by olivine:
how u noe prod. price abv world?
Thats because Japan is still a very closed economy, in the sense that they seldom source their raw material from non japanese companies even though they are cheaper. With less external competitions, naturally the price of products will be higher. -
Originally posted by TCH05:
I would have thought that Japanese will have no problem absorbing the cost increase because their products are already priced way above the rest of the world.Your observations are not that accurate. What you say is probably true 2-3 years ago but the Japanese Yen has fallen about 20% since 3 years ago. Singapore items on the other hand, have risen significantly over the years. Consider these 2 factors, the gap has certainly been bridged.
Now for similar products e.g. Coke at 7 eleven
In Singapore it would cost 1.80 but in Japan it would only cost 100-120 Yen (1.66 SGD on 120 Yen)
Clothing at UNIGLO ( the giordarno equivalent) cost from only 1000-2500 yen (14SGD to 34SGD)
Their 100 Yen shops beat Singapore hands down in terms of prices too.
Also consumer electronics in general are cheaper than Singapore
Even the price of housing has come down significantly. For 300-400k SGD, Japanese families can own real property and not 99 leases, although the apartment size is smaller.
Several months back when JPY was trading at 130 it would have been even cheaper.
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Originally posted by kilua:
Your observations are not that accurate. What you say is probably true 2-3 years ago but the Japanese Yen has fallen about 20% since 3 years ago. Singapore items on the other hand, have risen significantly over the years. Consider these 2 factors, the gap has certainly been bridged.
Now for similar products e.g. Coke at 7 eleven
In Singapore it would cost 1.80 but in Japan it would only cost 100-120 Yen (1.66 SGD on 120 Yen)
Clothing at UNIGLO ( the giordarno equivalent) cost from only 1000-2500 yen (14SGD to 34SGD)
Their 100 Yen shops beat Singapore hands down in terms of prices too.
Even the price of housing has come down significantly. For 300-400k SGD, Japanese families can own real property and not 99 leases, although the apartment size is smaller.
Several months back when JPY was trading at 130 it would have been even cheaper.
1) Japanese Yen has fallen about 20%? depending what currencies you are talking about.
2) Nobody buy things at 7-11 unless if you are too rich or you have no choice.
3) 100 yen shops are mainly selling rejected and firesale goods, hence you cant use that as comparison. however by looking at the quality of their products, one can obviously tell that the quality standard of their products is very high and the profit margin is high enough to compensate for the rejects.
4) Not sure about Uniglo, are they made in Japan?
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Ever wonder why Japan is the 2nd largest economy in the world when they only have a population of 127 million?
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Originally posted by TCH05:
1) Japanese Yen has fallen about 20%? depending what currencies you are talking about.
2) Nobody buy things at 7-11 unless if you are too rich or you have no choice.
3) 100 yen shops are mainly selling rejected and firesale goods, hence you cant use that as comparison. however by looking at the quality of their products, one can obviously tell that the quality standard of their products is very high and the profit margin is high enough to compensate for the rejects.
4) Not sure about Uniglo, are they made in Japan?
2. coke here in some abc stores in sgp is only 65 cents. i agree the 7-11 comparison is not appropriate. most drinks off vending machines or the convenient stores in japan are competitively priced, around the 110yen. here, 7-11's items are overpriced.
3. the 100Y stores is japan offers much better value, price-wise and range. i visit them everytime i am there. here, a daiso equivalent go for $2 per item, but at 100yen stores in Japan, it is actually cheaper over there.
4. uniglo stuff mainly comes from china. there are not exactly cheap. cheap relative to clothes prices in japan, but not when compared to elsewhere.
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Originally posted by TCH05:
1) Japanese Yen has fallen about 20%? depending what currencies you are talking about.
2) Nobody buy things at 7-11 unless if you are too rich or you have no choice.
3) 100 yen shops are mainly selling rejected and firesale goods, hence you cant use that as comparison. however by looking at the quality of their products, one can obviously tell that the quality standard of their products is very high and the profit margin is high enough to compensate for the rejects.
4) Not sure about Uniglo, are they made in Japan?
i hope you are not aruguing just to win. What i am trying to point out is the perception of high cost of living is no longer as true as 3-4 years back. Their currency has depreciated and the rest of the world has caught up.
JPY was trading at 168 against SGD in 2003-2004 and 130 last year so there is a big change in terms of cost of living.
2) Nobody buy things at 7-11 unless if you are too rich or you have no choice.
Wrong. In many asian countries such as Taiwan and Japan, 7 Eleven is very popular.
Only in Singapore where there is is a duopoly, prices are allowed to escalate to such level. The same applies for Singapore Power charging Singaporeans 23.88 kWh when Hong Kong and Australia are charging 17 cents and 15 cents/ KWh respectively.
1) Japanese Yen has fallen about 20%? depending what currencies you are talking about.
I wasnt precise about the dates, but admit it, JPY has fallen significantly.
3) 100 yen shops are mainly selling rejected and firesale goods, hence you cant use that as comparison. however by looking at the quality of their products, one can obviously tell that the quality standard of their products is very high and the profit margin is high enough to compensate for the rejects.
I am comparing the same product in bargain shops with Singapore and Japan. The same product cost only $1.45 in Japan but in Singapore it can cost up to between $2 - $4.
My point is that the perception that almost all of the products are over priced is not true. I went to the supermaket and the cost of meat is not too far from Singapore too.You made a sweeping statement about over priced Japanese goods, and anyone who has been there recently knows you are bullshitting.
Japanese Housing have fallen so much that HDB looks overpriced. 300-400k for a 70 year lease or 300-400k for a real freehold property ( but smaller)?
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Originally posted by kilua:
i hope you are not aruguing just to win. What i am trying to point out is the perception of high cost of living is no longer as true as 3-4 years back. Their currency has depreciated and the rest of the world has caught up.
JPY was trading at 168 against SGD in 2003-2004 and 130 last year so there is a big change in terms of cost of living.
Phobia number 2
Phobia number 1 is here
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Thats because Japan is still a very closed economy, in the sense that they seldom source their raw material from non japanese companies even though they are cheaper. With less external competitions, naturally the price of products will be higher.
sg shuld learn frm jpn, den sg no inflation
eh?
how cum jpn car cheaper dan other cars?
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Ever wonder why Japan is the 2nd largest economy in the world when they only have a population of 127 million?
wud has dis to do wif inflation?
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Originally posted by kilua:
i hope you are not aruguing just to win. What i am trying to point out is the perception of high cost of living is no longer as true as 3-4 years back. Their currency has depreciated and the rest of the world has caught up.
JPY was trading at 168 against SGD in 2003-2004 and 130 last year so there is a big change in terms of cost of living.
2) Nobody buy things at 7-11 unless if you are too rich or you have no choice.
Wrong. In many asian countries such as Taiwan and Japan, 7 Eleven is very popular.
Only in Singapore where there is is a duopoly, prices are allowed to escalate to such level. The same applies for Singapore Power charging Singaporeans 23.88 kWh when Hong Kong and Australia are charging 17 cents and 15 cents/ KWh respectively.
1) Japanese Yen has fallen about 20%? depending what currencies you are talking about.
I wasnt precise about the dates, but admit it, JPY has fallen significantly.
3) 100 yen shops are mainly selling rejected and firesale goods, hence you cant use that as comparison. however by looking at the quality of their products, one can obviously tell that the quality standard of their products is very high and the profit margin is high enough to compensate for the rejects.
I am comparing the same product in bargain shops with Singapore and Japan. The same product cost only $1.45 in Japan but in Singapore it can cost up to between $2 - $4.
My point is that the perception that almost all of the products are over priced is not true. I went to the supermaket and the cost of meat is not too far from Singapore too.You made a sweeping statement about over priced Japanese goods, and anyone who has been there recently knows you are bullshitting.
Japanese Housing have fallen so much that HDB looks overpriced. 300-400k for a 70 year lease or 300-400k for a real freehold property ( but smaller)?
What I am trying to highlight is that Japan being a closed economy, doesnt welcome foreign companies to sell into the Japanese market despite offering cheaper price. And for that reasons, the Japaness companies are actually commanding astronomical profits, which flow within the japanese economy.
And which is why for such a relatively small country, they can generate a GDP that is second only to United States.
If the same bargain products you are comparing in Singapore are coming from Japan, then you will have to factor in the shipping cost, packaging cost and the profit for the middle man in Japan and profit and cost of Singapore retailer?
The reason why Japanese Yen has depreciate against Singapore is because the Yen are very closely linked to the US$ because United States is their biggest trading partner and they have huge investment in the country. On the other hand, the Japanese Yen has actually appreciate against the US$. Hence if the Japaness are importing raw material in US$, the product is actually becoming cheaper.
Btw, have you heard of $150 rock melon? Thats what the japanese are willing to pay for fruits.
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Originally posted by olivine:
how cum jpn car cheaper dan other cars?
Because they are not made in Japan. -
Originally posted by TCH05:
Thats because Japan is still a very closed economy, in the sense that they seldom source their raw material from non japanese companies even though they are cheaper. With less external competitions, naturally the price of products will be higher.I strongly suggest certain individuals here take a course in Economics before using terms such as "Closed Economy".
He doesn't even know what the hell he is talking about, let alone teach others the theory of international trade.
Hehehe......Japan a Closed Economy!!!
An economy that does not engage in international trade or other forms of interaction with other countries. That is, a closed economy neither exports goods and services to, nor imports goods and services from, other economies that make up its foreign sector. It is "closed" to the flow of goods and services into or out of the country. The alternative to a closed economy is an open economy, one that does engage in international trade.
http://www.amosweb.com/cgi-bin/awb_nav.pl?s=wpd&c=dsp&k=closed+economy
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Originally posted by maurizio13:
I strongly suggest certain individuals here take a course in Economics before using terms such as "Closed Economy".
He doesn't even know what the hell he is talking about, let alone teach others the theory of international trade.
Hehehe......Japan a Closed Economy!!!
An economy that does not engage in international trade or other forms of interaction with other countries. That is, a closed economy neither exports goods and services to, nor imports goods and services from, other economies that make up its foreign sector. It is "closed" to the flow of goods and services into or out of the country. The alternative to a closed economy is an open economy, one that does engage in international trade.
http://www.amosweb.com/cgi-bin/awb_nav.pl?s=wpd&c=dsp&k=closed+economy
Why bother to teach? Didn't you see what happened when I taught a certain individual the difference between linear regression and correlation?
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I think these people read from North Korea economic textbook.
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Originally posted by maurizio13:
I strongly suggest certain individuals here take a course in Economics before using terms such as "Closed Economy".
He doesn't even know what the hell he is talking about, let alone teach others the theory of international trade.
Hehehe......Japan a Closed Economy!!!
An economy that does not engage in international trade or other forms of interaction with other countries. That is, a closed economy neither exports goods and services to, nor imports goods and services from, other economies that make up its foreign sector. It is "closed" to the flow of goods and services into or out of the country. The alternative to a closed economy is an open economy, one that does engage in international trade.
http://www.amosweb.com/cgi-bin/awb_nav.pl?s=wpd&c=dsp&k=closed+economy
Maybe you should read up about Keiretsu and tell me if what I am saying is correct. Economic course? nah..those are for students only.
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Originally posted by TCH05:
Maybe you should read up about Keiretsu and tell me if what I am saying is correct. Economic course? nah..those are for students only.
Japan is a Closed Economy and North Korea is a Keiretsu. In your own words, Closed Economy = Keiretsu.
Still forgiveable if you are not good at statistics and fail to understand the meaning of correlation.
But right now it seemed to have extend in to a deficiency in English too.
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Singapore's cost of living higher than Europe's
Singapore Democrats
28 Mar 08
A newspaper in the UK, the Daily Mail, ran a story about how much more British expatriates earned in the countries they worked than if they remained in Britain.
The countries cited were Canada, France, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates.
What does this have to do with Singaporeans?
At the very end of the piece (see below) the reported read: "most of those (British expats) living in eight of the ten countries said the cost of living was lower than in the UK."
And get this: "Singapore and the United Arab Emirates were the exceptions."
Hands up those of you who've been to Europe and complained how expensive things there are.
Well, now you have Britons saying that the cost of living in places like Sweden, France, Italy, Norway, Spain and the UK are lower than in Singapore.
And yet the income disparity in Singapore continues to widen with the wages of workers here remaining stagnant and even plummeting.
Can anyone find elderly French or Canadians or Swedes working for the equivalent of S$400 a month as cleaners or road sweepers?
Can anyone find the British or Italian prime minister paying himself more than S$300,000 a month and his father another $250,000?
Can everyone now understand why the police had to stop the march and quickly seize all the placards at the protest last Saturday?
It is clear that we need to continue to shout, and shout loudly: "TAK BOLEH TAHAN!"
And there's no better time to do it than this coming May Day.http://singaporedemocrat.org/articleforeigntalent1.html
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Originally posted by maurizio13:
Japan is a Closed Economy and North Korea is a Keiretsu. In your own words, Closed Economy = Keiretsu.
Still forgiveable if you are not good at statistics and fail to understand the meaning of correlation.
But right now it seemed to have extend in to a deficiency in English too.
There is not need to quote me out of context Maurizio13.
What I am trying to highlight is that Japan being a closed economy, doesnt welcome foreign companies to sell into the Japanese market despite offering cheaper price. And for that reasons, the Japaness companies are actually commanding astronomical profits, which flow within the japanese economy.
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There are some tariffs to international trade for Japan for sure but a lot of it has to do with the emphasis on "quality" and local culture by Japanese. They dont buy XBoxes or Apples for that matter.
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Diff btw Jap and Sg r ........we need foreign companies and so LL have to hire FT too.
We r not able to produce to meet our needs , and that's end up we need others.
Just hopefully the ppl able to profit from these investment. Only bad thing is our living standard will be somewhere btw those FT. Poor sg r now feeling the heat and pressure coming from Gov and FT, and we don't have strong support from local union.
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Originally posted by TCH05:
There is not need to quote me out of context Maurizio13.
What I am trying to highlight is that Japan being a closed economy, doesnt welcome foreign companies to sell into the Japanese market despite offering cheaper price. And for that reasons, the Japaness companies are actually commanding astronomical profits, which flow within the japanese economy.
Mauriozio is trying to point out that
"A closed economy neither exports goods and services to, nor imports goods and services from, other economies that make up its foreign sector."
but you are saying
"Japan being a closed economy, doesnt welcome foreign companies to sell into the Japanese market"
The usage of the term "closed economy" is inappropriate here.
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Originally posted by eagle:
Mauriozio is trying to point out that
"A closed economy neither exports goods and services to, nor imports goods and services from, other economies that make up its foreign sector."
but you are saying
"Japan being a closed economy, doesnt welcome foreign companies to sell into the Japanese market"
The usage of the term "closed economy" is inappropriate here.
maybe "closed" enconomy might be more application. In any case, the economy might be open for business, but the businessmen are not too open to doing business with foreigners.that is what I am trying to say.
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Originally posted by TCH05:
There is not need to quote me out of context Maurizio13.
What I am trying to highlight is that Japan being a closed economy, doesnt welcome foreign companies to sell into the Japanese market despite offering cheaper price. And for that reasons, the Japaness companies are actually commanding astronomical profits, which flow within the japanese economy.
Me quote you out of context?If you have no idea what is "closed economy", don't use it.
If you have no idea what is "correlation", don't use it.
Can explain your theories in simple terms, we know you are not educated in Economics
and you haven't had any proper tertiary education.
That's why whenever we asked you to explain your theories, you can never do it, you can
only claim that you are right and everyone else is wrong.
Don't worry, we won't look down on you despite your imperfections.
Originally posted by TCH05:
Thats because Japan is still a very closed economy, in the sense that they seldom source their raw material from non japanese companies even though they are cheaper. With less external competitions, naturally the price of products will be higher.