No news is good news

Media outlets are still trying to outdo one another with gloomy headlines.
Here are some recent examples:

S&P vs. Google

We’re communicators—not analysts. Still, we wondered what would happen if we compared the weekly close of the S&P 500 versus the volume of Google searches for the word “recession”. Both sets of data capture economic sentiment in their own way, and they seem to show a negative correlation. Perhaps the most intriguing question is what will happen when someone figures out how to use one to predict the other?

Art world bailout

Legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz has put up her life’s work as collateral for US$15.5-million in loans from Art Capital Group, a firm that describes itself as offering “private banking for the art world.” Leibovitz, whose famous photos include John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the nude, Queen Elizabeth, and First Lady Michelle Obama, is said to be in financial trouble following her wildly over-budget renovation of three Greenwich Village townhouses.

Hello, New York!

The first-ever stadium rock concert?
The Beatles at Shea Stadium on August 15, 1965. There were 55,600 screaming fans in attendance, and the boys took home $160,000 for their 30-minute performance. Here’s the set list from that historic show:

1. Twist and Shout
2. She’s A Woman
3. I Feel Fine
4. Dizzy Miss Lizzy
5. Ticket To Ride
6. Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby
7. Can’t Buy Me Love
8. Baby’s In Black
9. I Wanna Be Your Man
10. A Hard Day’s Night
11. Help!
12. I’m Down