The economics of infidelity

Infidelity is probably the most treacherous game where consequences could extend beyond the private realm of the heart. People of celebrity status, whose wealth or economic dominance in certain economic fields can cause downfall in stock share prices, shake investors' trust and destroy the public confidence. While it is true that "to err is human...", it is not forgivable to destroy public trust even if it is illusionary.

Take the case of Tiger Wood - the world's best golfer whose dominance in sports is only equalled by the amount of sponsor revenues that has made him the best paid brand in sports. The revealation of his infidelity caused more than a ripple of surprise from a public which saw in him a model figure, not just in golf where he excels but as a son, a family man, a husband and a father. In other words, he has everything in this world except immortality. And he proved to be a God with clay feet. In certain cultures, men of fame earn greatness by having many mistresses. Wives even encourage their husbands to have them for status sake. I don't think that in Tiger Wood's case, his Swedish wife had encouraged him to take extra-marital affairs to prove his manhood outside the golf games he dominate.

In Sweden, the divorce of out-going Ericsson boss Carl-Henric Svanberg - who will be the newest head of British Petroleum has become a public interest. There is no allegation of infidelity in this case and if the news story of his marriage break-up is to be believed, it is simply a case of falling in love with another. It is alleged that the divorcing couple holds no less than half-a-billion Swedish crowns in share assets and if they are dumped in the volatile stockmarket could impoverish thousands of small savers and investors.

There are many celebrity cases involving infidelity and divorces where the economic consequences have not really been brought out in the open. But when wealth is split and the main bulk are in bonds and shares, the result could cause sudden price downfall in the stockmarket. What shares are dumped, one never knows as truth ( the private ones) disappears in the generalities of market trading. When small investors buy stocks and bonds, there is no knowing how much of the private lives of major investors could affect the economic well-being of thousands of innocent people.#