Friday, August 20, 2010

The 56 Year Benner Cycle

The 56 year cycle mentioned yesterday (“Periods When to Make Money” (© 1883) was picked up by FT Alphaville; we hear it caused some “consternation” in certain circles where the marinating of ice cubes takes place.

I find these approaches quite fascinating, if for no other reason than I consider myself a student of market history. (Whether it is an actionable thesis is an entirely different question). For those of you who are also interested in such things, let’s explore this periodicity, better known as the Benner Cycle.

Samuel Benner was a prosperous farmer who was wiped out financially by the 1873 panic. When he try to discern the causes of fluctuations in markets, he came across a large degree of cyclicality.

Benner eventually published his findings in a book in 1875 — BENNERS PROPHECIES: FUTURE UPS AND DOWNS IN PRICEs – making business and commodity price forecasts for 1876 -1904. Many (but not all) of these forecasts were fairly accurate. (more)

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