Happy Hour: Swimsuit Indicator, Aristocrats and How Did I Get Here Google?

It’s happy hour again.  Time to kick back, relax and check out some of the more interesting things that came out this week.

The SI Swimsuit Indicator

Sports Illustrated released its annual swimsuit issue this week, with the big reveal of the cover model on the Late Show with David Letterman.  Wall Street’s need to analyze everything, has found the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Indicator.  Seriously?  The S&P 500 has performed better with an American on the cover than without 88.2% of the time, with an average return of 14.3%.

The Aristocrats

The royalty of Wall Street and many a portfolio, the Aristocrats list was also released by CNBC this week.  It’s a list of stocks, not people, so nothing to gawk at really.  Unless you are a fan of high quality dividend paying stocks.  You see, an Aristocrat is an S&P 500 stock that has consistently paid and raised its dividend every year for the last 25 years.  It’s a great place to start if you are looking for dividend stocks.

How Did I Get Here Google?

This site gets a few visitors from Google search every month.  People enter words, hit search and a list of relevant sites are magically regurgitated.  How it actually works is a mystery, but most of the time Google gets it right and people click their way over to the tune of some 25,000 a month.

Every now and then a few slip through the cracks and people find themselves at a finance site wanting information about happy hour or how to invest in novels.  I can’t figure out why, but here’s a few of the unique search terms that somehow brought people here this past month:

  • change and how it affects you
  • cnbc cost me money
  • hello it’s spring 2012…when oh when will interest rates rise in the usa
  • investor day in turkey
  • lenny kravitz
  • mastercard stock goodbye?
  • what crystal is october
  • who decides who wins the superbowl
  • would you pay for someone’s dream
  • madness its happy hour again

Last Call

Here’s some of the more interesting things I’ve read this week:

  • Do risk free assets exist?  Personal Finance Whiz answers the question pretty well and I tend to agree.  There is an over allocation in “risk free” assets happening that can be argued as too risky.
  • If you are on the side of saving the planet, an electric car might be the answer, or is it?  Beating Broke asks the question and gets some good responses too.  My take, when things get more efficient to use, we tend to use them more.
  • Teacherman offers a great discussion on the generation gap, more specifically the us paying for them view that pops up too often when the topic of pension funds and social security arise.
  • Ever heard of parental leave for men?  Financial Samurai floats the idea of a law requiring parental leave for men and women as a solution to closing the gender wage gap.  I’d recommend reading through the comments discussion too.
  • Ever thought of turning your house into a giant advertisement?  The Penny Hoarder introduces a potential money-making opportunity.  Not sure if it would fly in suburbia, but it happens all the time in big cities.

Cheers

Thanks to Money Q&A, 101 Centavos, My University Money, DQYDJ, and Family Money Values for sharing us with their readers.

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