Pershing missile

摘要

THE fruit-and-vegetable market on Reclamation Street in Hong Kong attracts residents who still prefer to shop at open stalls rather than cloistered malls. Under the awnings that flank the road, traders offer dragon fruit, rose apples and the flowering stems of Chinese cabbage. The prices are scrawled on cardboard tabs, which makes them easy to change.That is just as well, because prices change quickly in Hong Kong. In the year to July they rose by 7-9%, the fastest rate in almost 16 years. In other economies, the central bank would respond by raising interest rates. But Hong Kong has little control over its monetary policy. For the past 28 years it has pegged its currency at about 7.8 to the American dollar. In so doing, it has placed its monetary fate in the hands of the Federal Reserve, which has floored rates and promised not to raise them any time Soon. That has left Hong Kong with a brisk economy, low unemployment, a worrying property boom-and real interest rates of -7.7% (see chart).