The iPod International Currency Index

Snad writes "The BBC is reporting that an Australian bank has adopted the price of Apple's iPod as a means of tracking international currency values. Similar to The Economist's Big Mac index, this 'iPod index' tracks the price of a 2-GB iPod Nano around the globe and uses purchasing power parity to determine relative currency value. A sample quote: '"The index suggests that the US dollar has potential to appreciate against a range of major currencies, with the Australian dollar about 15% overvalued against the greenback," said Craig James, Commonwealth Securities' head economist.' The cheapest place to buy an iPod is Canada — $144 (but Hong Kong and Japan are almost as cheap); the most expensive is Brazil — $327."

Comments

iPod vs. Big Mac Index

[NoSuchGuy]

The Big Mac Index is more suitable because it is a local index.

Because for a Big Mac you look at the local costs and industries.
(packaging, local labour cost, local agriculture (salad, meat...))

For an iPod you only measure the chinise output (packaging, chinese labout cost, chinise raw materials ...) and the local reseller cost and worldwide shipping cost.