Pricey Pigeons  Feb 3, 2012 • Businesses, Demand, Supply, and
Markets, Developing Economies, Economic History, Households,
International Trade and Finance, Labor, Macroeconomic
Measurement, Money and Monetary Policy, Thinking Economically •
72 Views    No Comments  At the Paradise Pigeon auction in
Belgium, a Dutch breeder sold a female pigeon to a Chinese
shipbuilder for $328,000. Purchased to breed rather than race,
Dolce Vita (the bird) will enable Hu Zhen Yu, also the owner of
a pigeon racing group, to elevate China in a sport that had been
dominated by Germany, Holland, Great Britain and Belgium.  With
the capacity to fly more than 60 miles an hour and to cover 500
miles in one day, carrier pigeons are faster than any horse and
rider. As a result, sort of like FedEx, they were used to fly
stock prices between cities during the mid-19th century before
the telegraph replaced them.  Our bottom line? Prices created by
markets convey valuable information.  The Economic Lesson  A
market is a process that deter