A LEGION of weird and wonderful hypothesis has flown from economic analysts attempting to explain the inexplicable How can the post war growth/recession cycle be broken? What public perceptions are at work when events of minor significance artificially boost or depress stock markets? Where does Ruairi Quinn get those ties? Now at last the jigsaw falls into place with the "hemline index theory". Disciples claim that stock markets and economies tend to move in the same direction that hemlines shift in relation to the knee.

The concept is being put to the test this week on the Philippine stock market where the imposition of a new dress code for women traders may prompt a bout of selling. The exchange has prohibited females from wearing "plunging necklines, micro mini skirts and other attire not suitable during business hours". First time offenders will receive a formal warning with serial miscreants barred from the trading floor. Presumable the odd erring male will be similarly censured. An anxious male broker, explaining the nuances of the index, fears that the dictate on probity "will take the firmness out of the market". Whatever can he mean?