Massey researcher makes it into New York Times
massey-university
Thu Mar 12 2009 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Massey researcher makes it into New York Times
Thursday, 12 March 2009, 12:27 pm
Press Release: Massey University
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Massey researcher makes it into New York Times
A Massey academic’s research into the seasonal nature of the stock market has been used as the basis of a column in the New York Times this week.
Professor Ben Jacobsen’s study The Halloween Indicator, Sell in May and Go Away caught the eye of columnist Susan Dominus.
In her Big City column, Ms Dominus has related Professor Jacobsen’s study to how the sunny weather starting in the States was bringing out the shoppers and may spell hope in the gloom of the economic downturn.
Professor Jacobsen’s research centres on what is known as the Halloween effect, the puzzling fact that almost all stock market around the world make all of their gains from November to April.
Stocks tend to stabilise or go down during the remainder of the year.
Professor Jacobsen, a finance professor in the Department of Commerce at the University’s Albany campus, says academics around the world have tried to explain it but still have no convincing answer.
“Normally these anomalies once discovered disappear. This one does not. In fact, we now also see it pop up in New Zealand,” he says.
“I have done several studies myself on topic trying to unravel this puzzle. The problem is that it is almost impossible to distinguish between explanations as many things show seasonal trends. It makes for some fun results too: ice cream production, airline travel: they all seem to ‘predict’ stock returns.”
Professor Jacobsen says it is pleasing to have research recognised, particularly in the
United States where the economy has been particularly hard hit.
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“I hope that the work I did will have a bit of positive effect,” says Professor Jacobsen. “It is good to see that this effect that has puzzled academics around the world for years now also gets more and more attention from the popular media because investors can benefit from trading on this simple strategy.”
Read the full column here http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/nyregion/09bigcity.html
ENDS
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