Rejoice, rejoice, we have the answer to stock market problems: buy in some windbreaks

The following quote is a genuine quote from an academic journal. Oh yes.

Why have I thought necessary to mention that?

Well, it’s about the stock market.

And how windy the weather is.

And how stocks go up or down depending on how windy it is.

Not just the stocks of windbreak or heating/cooling firms.

All stocks.

Yes indeed:

This study investigated the relationship  between wind speed and daily stock market returns across 18 European countries from 1994 to 2004. A significant and pervasive wind effect was found on stock returns. This finding was supported by psychological literature claiming that mood affects judgement and decision-making in situations involving uncertainty and risk … The influence of wind on stock returns is demonstrated to be more significant than that of sunlight, indicating that wind might exert a stronger impact on our mood than sunshine.

From Applied Financial Economics, Vol.19, No.11, 2009 in an article by Hui-Chu Shu and Mao-Wei Heng.

Me? I’m off to ring some City firms and tell them some knock knock jokes. Make ‘em happy and the economy will soar.

Hat-tip: Annals of Improbable Research, Jan-Feb 2010