For Good Of Stock Market, Packers Must Be Super

Those following the Super Bowl theory are feeling pretty smug as the Green Bay Packers and the Denver Broncos prepare to do battle Jan. 25 in San Diego.

Brought to light in the 1980s by Wall Street money manager Robert Stovall, the theory holds that stocks will rise in a year when one of the teams from the old NFL or a current member of the NFC beats one of the original teams from the American League conference.

If the AFL team wins, the market will head south, the theory goes.

While the direction of the market and the outcome of the Super Bowl logically have nothing in common, in practically every year the NFC team has won, the market has gone up. In fact, going back to the first Super Bowl between Green Bay and Kansas City, it has been right an amazing 28 out of 31 times.

Of course, the skeptics say it’s just a statistical anomaly, caused by the fact that the NFC team usually wins and the Dow goes up more years than not.

Early results in the stock market point to a Denver Broncos victory.

Stock analysis classes scheduled

The Inland Empire Council of the National Association of Investors Corporation holds workshops today and Thursday evening on investment how-tos.

Stock Analyst 101 starts at 9 a.m. today in the National Guard Armory, 5555 Seltice Way in Coeur d’Alene. The fee for registration at the door is $20.

Instructors will explain how to use the association’s Stock Selection Guide to forecast earnings and stock prices, evaluate management and determine potential upside and downside.

The Thursday class, Stock Analyst Lite, covers more basic information, like how to understand the Wall Street Journal’s financial pages and where to find other sources of information about stocks.

The three-hour session starts at 6:30 p.m in the North Spokane Library, 44 E. Hawthorne. Preregistration is $5, the fee at the door is $10.

Prudential giving free ATM access

Hoping to appeal to bank customers who are tired of paying ATM charges, Prudential Securities is offering free access to automated teller machines accessed by its Command Visa Gold debit card. Customers who set up a Command account with Prudential receive access to 250,000 ATMs nationwide. Prudential says it will even absorb the cost of any surcharges levied by an ATM owned by another financial institution.

, DataTimes