WASHINGTON 鈥� There are some 鈥渙fficial鈥� economic indicators that many people put faith in. Everything from the job report, to GDP growth, to consumer spending give the public an idea of where the market is heading. However, beyond the more serious indicators, there are some unusual and occasionally quirky ones that can offer the same insight 鈥� although they might be a tad less quantifiable.
Here鈥檚 a sampling of some of my favorite unusual economic indicators to keep an eye on:
Super Bowl winners:聽A trend emerges when you look at the winner of The Super Bowl, where the market does better in years that NFC teams win. Historically speaking, the boasts an 80 percent accuracy rate 鈥� although it was wrong in the last two years. This year, the Philadelphia Eagles, an NFC team, won, which bodes well for the market.
The 鈥淪ports Illustrated鈥� cover model鈥檚 nationality:聽Perhaps for obvious reasons, one of the most popular issues of 鈥淪ports Illustrated鈥� is its annual swimsuit edition. But there is also an interesting twist linked to the model who appears on the cover of the issue: Whenis from the U.S., the S&P 500 tends to generate a return above its historical rate, while a non-American cover model has seen under-performance by the S&P 500 for the year. On Feb. 13, they announced American born Danielle Herrington 鈥� another positive indicator.
Attractive servers in restaurants:聽Back in 2009, Hugo Lindgren of 鈥淣ew York Magazine” coined this theory, which he actually called the 鈥�.鈥� It says that the 鈥渉otter鈥� the waiter or waitress serving you in a restaurant, the weaker the economy is. Lindgren鈥檚 assumption was that good-looking people tend to find higher-paying jobs in good times.
Consumption of beer: In bad times, consumers often try to cut back to save a buck, and consumption of alcoholic beverages is often on the list of things to go. In Europe from 2008 to 2010, they experienced a in addition to its debt crisis.
The width and color of ties:聽Another physical cue to the state of the economy might be the size and color of men鈥檚 ties. In good times, the theory goes, men tend to wear聽, as opposed to dark and bland colors in downturns. They also go for聽, which supposedly reflects reliability and trustworthiness.
The rise of pet thefts:聽If you see a proliferation of missing pet signs in your neighborhood, watch out. An uptick in missing pets, especially dogs,聽since the thieves are banking on a reward, or, worse, a chance to sell your pet on the black market for extra cash.
Sales of lipstick:聽One closely watched segment of personal spending that may predict the health of the economy is personal luxuries, such as lipstick and nail polish. Studies have found that as the economy tanks,聽聽as consumers look for a relatively affordable way to splurge.
Coupon Redemption:聽Back in 2009, thanks to the recession, , hitting 3.3 billion coupons redeemed, according to Inmar Inc. If you find the grocery lines slowing down as people redeem coupons, it may be a sign of bad times.
The sale of men鈥檚 underwear:聽Before the most recent recession, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan had a reputation as someone who had a knack for seeing around the corner when it came to the market. Reportedly, one of the leading indicators he looked at for his predictions. If sales of underwear dipped, that meant that income was down and trouble loomed.
The supply of cardboard boxes:聽As all of us have become more comfortable shopping online for just about everything through sites such as Amazon, the site of brown cardboard boxes sitting on porches has become commonplace. That鈥檚 why聽聽has become a way to predict how retailers see the coming month. If they鈥檙e ordering more boxes, good times may soon follow.
Of course the predictive power of any of these indicators is questionable. What these do show, however, is that the effects of economic strength or weakness are far-reaching and occasionally amusing.
