The anecdotal recovery (2)

Back in June I wrote about some anecdotal evidence of an economic recovery http://aprivateportfolio.blogspot.com/2009/07/anecdotal-recovery-1.html

Using the same indicators:

1. Taxi queues: they have got longer, although still short of pre-crisis duration.

2. Restaurant bookings: restaurants are getting busier. Today I had to call three restaurants to get a lunch booking for next Tuesday in Central.

3. Property prices: these have risen further since June although not dramatically so. Tellingly, residential rents have started rising again. The latter is good news for me.

I can add the following to the list:

4. Traffic: it takes longer to get to and from work each day. The difference is most easily measured in the mornings where my taxi fare is typically HK$2-3 more than it was at the beginning of the year.

5. Air tickets: airlines are reporting higher loads. Some of my colleagues are starting to encounter problems with getting bookings on popular routes on short notice.