There was very interesting post yesterday by Professor Mark Perry of the University of Michigan's School of Management. While we've all been coping with rising prices at the pump and at the supermarket, he's got another way to look at the numbers.

In truth, in spite of all the noise and fear, we've actually seen prices go down dramatically in a number of products. While we focus on food and energy prices, we've seen the following:

• Computers have seen prices go down by 90% over the past 10 years.
• TVs have experience a 76% drop over the same period of time.
• Even autos have dropped by 3.4%

What to make of all this? Professor Perry looks at these drops in light of the fact that average hourly earnings have increased by 40% over the last 10 years. Or, in other words, Perry posits "...there are many, many products that are significantly cheaper today than ten years ago, especially after adjusting for increases in earnings."

So, why don't we pay attention to these dips that make it massively more affordable for me to set up my 73" Flat Panel TV screen?

While Prof. Perry credits the gradual nature of these price drops, I think it's human psychology. Behavioral finance has shown that in investing, we focus a lot more on losses than on gains. So too at the pump -- we're thinking about how much more a gallon of gas costs us than how much less a MacBookPro costs from a couple of years ago.

Zack Miller is the managing editor of IsraelNewsletter.com and a former equity analyst for a leading multinational hedge fund

As I discussed previously, China has been going through an impressive growth period over the past few years. The country's growth rate increased analysts' concerns about a possible "bubble economy," and following its decision o tighten monetary controls in 2008, China raised interest rates for a sixth time this year.

China's move is designed to put a curb on a price surge that has brought inflation to its highest level in a decade in the world's most populous country. Due to concerns about a debt crisis caused by defaults on bank loans, Beijing had also taken some preventative measures such as imposing lower investment spending on new factories, office buildings and other assets.

According to the central bank, the interest rates for a one-year loan will increase by 0.18 percentage points to 7.47%. Rates on bank deposits will climb by 0.27 percentage points to 4.14%. The bank's decision is not a surprising one if we take into account that consumer prices rose by 6.9% in November, hitting he highest inflation rate since 1996. Economists blamed an 18.2% growth in politically sensitive food costs for the price surge.

I have a feeling that not many PR firms will release news on June 29. No doubt, the focus will be on Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s eagerly awaited iPhone.

Of course, the buzz is already intense.

But what about the price? Is Apple asking too much?

I had a chance to interview Rafi Mohammed, an expert on pricing. He runs a consulting firm, Culture of Profit, and is the author of the book The Art of Pricing.

What's your take on the pricing strategy?

Apple did a great job of setting prices.

Would the Xbox 360's price drop from $299 to $199? It's a rumor that was sweeping the 'net after Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) executive and Xbox product development director David Hufford was quoted in Bloomberg saying that "We are well aware that the sweet spot of the market is really 199 bucks."

It may, indeed, be a sweet, sweet price point. But it's not going to be the price point of Microsoft's bellwether product anytime soon. Hufford came out Friday to clear the air, explaining in an e-mail to Gamerscoreblog that the interview with Bloomberg was two months ago -- and he was not then, nor is he now, signalling an impending price drop.

Despite Hufford's declination, many in the gaming industry believe that a price drop is on the horizon, and while 33% is a bit bigger than most projections, it seems that a $50 reduction on the Xbox 360 may not be out of the question. And if anyone wants to bet, my money's on $249, November 2007.

Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) has priced $5 billion in debt securities that are effective under the recent S-3 filing. The sale of the debt securities is expected to close on November 13, 2006.

It has priced the following:

$2 billion in floating rate notes due in 2009
$1 billion 5.50% notes due in 2011
$1 billion in 5.875% notes due in 2016
$1 billion in 6.50% notes due out in 2036

As previously noted, the proceeds are for refinancing existing indebtedness and for general corporate purposes, including repurchases of Time Warner's common stock. Banc of America Securities LLC, Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas Securities Corp. and RBS Greenwich Capital are joint book-running managers.

This is the ongoing plan of adding more leverage to the balance sheet, although the proceeds here look to be more for refinancing coming debt and share buybacks more than anything else. As of September 30, 2006 TWX had $10.149 billion in current assets and another $3.55 billion in long-term investments. Total investments were listed as $130.5 billion, but $51.79 billion was listed as intangible and $41.2 billion was listed as Goodwill. It also listed $11.6 billion in current liabilities, and total liabilities of $68.8 billion.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) today unveiled its Zune digital media player, with no details as to launch date or pricing (my guess: one pack will be $149, another will be $249, and still another will bump up against $400). Immediately my reaction was: brown?!?

Yep, not only is Microsoft filling the "white" and "black" market segments, just like iPod and about every other digital music player manufacturer out there, but the company has decided to enter the little-trafficked "brown" category. I never thought I'd say this (I never even knew it might be something I could say), but: I want a brown Zune! It's almost genius in its geekiness.

Microsoft announced that the Zune would be pre-loaded with music from labels like EMI Music's Astralwerks Records and Virgin Records, Quango Music Group, and V2/Artemis Records, and laid out a detailed description of the "Packs" which would be available (Car, Home A/V, and Travel). Microsoft will surely be rushing to get the player in stores by November for holiday shopping.

And make sure you pack Portland stores with lots of brown, Mr. Ballmer! [Update: Engadget has all the technogeek specs for those of you who like that sort of thing.]