Better safe at home than sorry

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, which had reached record highs just days earlier.

In January of the same year, IBM took a hit as the Jerusalem virus wiped irretrievable data off computers across the UK on Friday 13th.

Superstitious beliefs still run high, with one UK survey finding that 16% of respondents wouldn’t fly on Friday 13th, one in 10 avoiding travelling by train, 11% refusing to stay in hotel room number 13 and a staggering 37% saying they wouldn’t buy a house that is number 13. In fact, the Stress Management Centre and Phobia Institute in North Carolina estimates that US businesses lose up to $900m in sales and productivity when the 13th of the month falls on a Friday as customers refrain from activities such as flying and anxious employees stay home from work.

The phenomenon even has a name: paraskavedekatriaphobia is the fear of Friday 13th, while triskaidekaphobics are scared of the number 13 more generally.