Japan's Stock Market Got You Confused? Try Analyzing Eyebrows

With Japan’s stock market having slipped away from strategists’ targets set at the start of the year, investors seeking alternative analysis could consider studying eyebrows.

Thick eyebrows became popular during the nation’s so-called bubble economy of the late 1980s, according to Shiseido Co., Japan’s largest cosmetic company. Thin eyebrows were the trend during slowdowns coinciding with the oil shocks of the 1970s and the period of economic stagnation that started in the late 1990s. Japan’s equity benchmarks reached record highs in December 1989. Since late 1991, they have stayed near or below 50 percent of their peaks.