CapitalistMarks

The Tigernomics recession.

Posted on 30. Dec, 2009 by scott in Social commentary, economic daydreaming

Are we to believe anything about Tiger Woods?  I don’t know . . . the social media has grabbed the story of his infidelity and tried to turn it into the biggest of 2009.  Perhaps they are right –  but one thing is for sure.

Tiger’s folly has had a very real economic impact.

While I don’t trust much on the news (especially the paparrazi type) I do trust the recent careful and educated analysis of Tiger’s downfall on the stocks of companies he endorsed.

Two economists at the University of California did a careful analysis of stocks of such companies since the announcement of his ‘accident’,  ‘confession’ and disappearance.  They took into consideration all pertinent factors such as the relative value of the S&P 500 since the bust and also compared the changing valuations of the sponsor’s closest competitors. Their study determined the stock losses for the first 13 trading days thereafter.

The result:  shareholders lost about $12 billion as a result of the golf star’s philandering ways (so far more than a dozen women have admitted — and quite publicly in some cases — to adulterous relations with Tiger). Three of those companies (Electronic Arts, Nike and Gatorade) are responsible for about $6 billion of that loss.

To refresh you memory, I wrote about this earlier (see Tiger) and said that I would never buy or use products from any company supporting Tiger.  Guess I wasn’t the only one.  The boycott of those of us enraged enough to show our displeasure at the checkout counter has worked.

I am glad that the lies Tiger has been living and telling us has had significant consequences for Tiger (at least one terminated Tiger) and ‘those’ companies.  About time that dishonesty is proving to be both wrong and costly.

As for the Tiger recession?

I hope it continues.  One of my son’s, a fellow golfer, carefully chose my Christmas presents to avoid any products from Tiger’s sponsors (whew!).

It really is sad.

I am sorry for the shareholders loss, but the companies themselves should have done more due diligence before forking out more than $100,000,000 a year for a guy who has proven to be more disappointing that he ever was talented.

Go Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Jim Furyk and Padraig Harrington!!

Honesty, loyalty and commitment should have its rewards!

It is us big-slicing weekend golfers who are the real victims here (with appropriate apologies to Elin and the two children)

thanks to flickr’s bradlypjohnson for the photo

Tags: don't buy tiger endorsed products, support honesty, tiger recession, tiger sponsors stocks fall, tiger woods