Greenspan "keep your eye on men's underwear "

The stock market is up, foreclosure filings are leveling off, but men’s underwear are down. That has more implications than you might think. Major news outlets like Newsweek magazine may have declared the recession over, but it ain’t really over until men’s underwear says it’s over.

Yes, according to none other than dean of the financial markets Alan Greenspan, the sale of men’s briefs is one of the most accurate predictors of economic conditions. If sales are too tight, the economy is likely in a pinch.
Men’s Briefs Tell the Tale

In a 2008, National Public Radio (NPR) report it was revealed that Greenspan believed that men’s briefs were among the most accurate predictors of an economic crisis. “If you look at sales of male underpants, it’s just pretty much a flat line, it hardly ever changes” reported Robert Krulwich. “But on those few occasions where it dips that means that men are so pinched that they are deciding not to replace underpants.” And so Greenspan says “that is almost always a prescient, forward impression that here comes trouble.”

According to Matt Hall, a spokesman for Hanes brand, “They (sale of men’s underwear) tend to be later going into a recession and earlier coming back.” Once men feel more comfortable with their finances, they will spend money on the inexpensive things that no one sees.