Economy: Applemania - The iPhone Effect

This morning you could see long lines in Manhattan and other places in the US (I shot these pics on Spring Street, New York City). Did these people wait for a free lunch? Did they hope to get a soup from Salvation Army? Were they standing in line to get free clothing and other help? Are we now in a new depression?

Nope. These people were waiting for the new iPhone (marketwatch). The iPhone 5 costs more than $500, without the expenses for the network services. These lines aren`t a sign of poverty , quite the contrary, they are signaling wealth and the believe in a better future. These lines are more evidence that the economy is stronger than many think.

Being an investor in Apple (Disclosure!) I love these people and their displayed optimism. And I love Apple CEO Tim Cook and his team for developing products the masses are craving for.

Everybody should love them, because the new smartphone could boost the whole US economy.  Economists expect that the iPhone boom  could contribute as much as one-half a percentage point to U.S. economic growth in the fourth quarter (bloomberg). Maybe the iPhone effect will be more important than QE3.