That's the benchmark figure from which a group of economists are starting, when they try to figure out the value of the happiness that can be generated by the Olympics and Paralympic Games this summer.

BBC: Going for the happiness gold

"As Indian consumers become more upwardly mobile and more exposed to foreign brand names, it is inevitable that the Indian consumer will upgrade himself and move up the value chain and try out better brands, so I think that is what UB is trying to prevent, " he said.

BBC: Kingfisher logo

Raj Singh, a former investment banker who recently became chief risk officer of Swiss Re, points out that the banks' risk models, which try to put a value on how much they should realistically expect to lose in the 99% of the time that passes for normality, draw on reams of historical data.

ECONOMIST: Risk management

Even though it's nowhere near cheap, that doesn't mean the SUB 25 can't present value to well-heeled bassheads, and we'll try to suss that out over the coming weeks.

ENGADGET: Paradigm SUB 25 subwoofer hands-on HD