THE INSIDER: Better safe at home than sorry
Paraskavedekatriaphobics, and investors, may note the Friday 13th ‘bourse curse’ looms in October
If you survived the Friday 13th that occurred in January this year, don’t let your guard down — there’s another one coming up in October. And if you’re not superstitious, think again. According to the Telegraph, over the past five years the FTSE 100 has closed lower on seven of the 10 Friday 13ths, which could, of course, be coincidence. But as an investor, do you want to take the chance? On Friday the 13th July 2012, China’s GDP growth dropped to a three-year low of 7.6%, marking a new stage in the country’s economic slowdown. A few months earlier, the Italian cruiseliner Costa Concordia ran aground on Friday the 13th in January, killing 32 people and wiping out more than a fifth of its owner Carnival’s share price. On Friday the 13th October 1989, a day that is now often referred to as Black Friday, the failed $6.75bn buyout deal for United Airlines’ parent company sent global markets plunging, knocking 7% and 6% respectively off the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500, w...
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