Ho ho ho!

PNC bank has been doing a 'human interest' drill for the last 21 years, figuring out the objective, intrinsic worth of the items mentioned in the song "the Twelve Days of Christmas". You've probably heard the figures mentioned on radio programs.

They've released the figures for this year here. The good news is that the livestock and bulk orders seem to be dropping, or if not dropping, fluctuating with a trend towards lower prices. See:
Turtledoves, Gold Rings.





What's really driving the price index up (it's at an all time high) is the associated labor costs of Lords a Leaping, Ladies Dancing, Maids a Milking and etc.

The Maids a Milking figure is perhaps a tad more dramatic, as the other labor costs were less steep (probably not accounting for additional sundries such as cow rental, stools, etc.) but were, in general, at the peak of a long climb.





This relatively steep climb in labor costs is likely associated with hidden costs such as the rise in transportation costs associated with the oil price index.

Any way you slice it, Merry Christmas.