Join the new world

With the recent changes we've seen in our markets, I'd like to let people know my take on the way things currently stand.

We are in the midst of experiencing a period of solid economic growth. It began with the after-effects of national wellness losses from the South Africa war and has continued with a surge in new players recently. The admins instituted a slight change to the productivity formula a few weeks ago, significantly reducing the effect of the number of employees term, and this has also contributed to lower production recently. The result? Prices and wages are up in almost every market. This is a good thing for our economy right now, because it allows us a little breathing room before a return to the inevitable periods of deflation we've been fighting for months. The good news is we've seen inflation in goods without seeing inflation in our currency. Company owners should enjoy the higher sale prices, and employees should enjoy higher wages while we can.

I feel like our citizens sometimes lose sight of the fact that prices in the different industries are relative to the production points required to produce the goods. I'd like to do a rundown of the different markets at the Q1 level for general comparison and as a guide to prospective new company owners.


Food - Q1 Price = 0.90 USD per Production Point

Q1 food has increased from 0.60 USD earlier this week to 0.70 to 0.90 USD today (before taxes). Food prices have finally returned to a level where food companies can offer competitive wages compared to the other industries, so we should see an uptick in hiring soon. I have also directed the US Unemployment Office to focus their efforts in this market.


Gifts - Q1 Price = 0.70 USD per Production Point

Gift prices have been rising slightly recently, as would be expected with our increased national wellness demand. This is our cheapest industry, and that probably will not change while we are in a period of peace.


Moving Tickets - Q1 Price = 1.13 USD per Production Point

Prices have fallen some with the reduction in the VAT and import taxes in this industry, but it still has the highest prices of any Q1 market. There's not much reason to upgrade above Q1, so essentially the Q1 prices dictate this market.


Weapons - Q1 Price = 1.10 USD per Production Point

Weapons offer good profit margins at Q1, and that potential just continues to increase at higher quality levels. This is our most expensive industry as a whole, although prices and sales tend to drop if we go awhile without a war.


Houses - Q1 Price = 1.08 USD per Production Point

The recent focus on housing has stabilized prices in the Q1 market. The current Q1 companies will probably serve as de facto training companies due to the fact that their higher-skilled employees will be able to earn much higher wages at higher quality companies soon. Higher quality houses are being sold as fast as they are being produced. Eventually production will catch up, but at 200 production points a pop and with so many people actively searching for a good house, we'll all need a little bit of patience.


In the coming days, I would expect to see a movement of employees into the food, and to a lesser extent, moving industries. There is a lot of competition for employees right now, but that should level out as the relative prices in the different industries move to become more and more in line with one another. This is just something to keep in mind when checking prices in our marketplace.