Lest you be focusing just on the more serious stories in the financial press, such as Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) stock market debut or "4 Stocks Your Broker Hates," here's a brief recap of some recent and weird financial news:
- If you're looking for a higher-paying job, and you happen to be a dog, look into the exciting field of geese management. According to an Associated Press story, the Senate Finance Committee has been looking into questionable expenses at the Statue of Liberty, and one expense questioned has been $45,000 per year for a dog that chases geese away.
- Fans of ancient (and modern) Rome are outraged over new billboards obscuring some of the city's famous views. One for L'Oreal (NASDAQ:LORLY) products, for example, blocks a 16th century church. The Pantheon may soon be covered in ads for cell phone providers. Investors in these companies might pay attention. The ads may boost sales -- or hurt the companies' reputations.
- In Chile, a cemetery is charging about $462 for an alarm that's fitted into coffins to help prevent accidental live burials. In Italy, meanwhile, a coffin sold for $5,000 in 1995, outfitted with a distress call device and a survival kit. Companies in the "post-life" industry such as Service Corp. (NYSE:SRV) and AlderwoodsGroup (NASDAQ:AWGI) might look into these new kinds of offerings for American consumers, while electronics and telecommunications firms such as Motorola (NYSE:MOT) and Nokia (NYSE:NOK) might want to develop gravesite communication equipment.
- In Spain, a German prisoner glued his hand to his girlfriend's hand during a visit in order to make his extradition to Germany difficult. Retailers might look into this as a sales-boosting technique. If salesfolk at Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), for example, glue themselves to you until you buy a large-screen TV, the firm's sales might increase. Or not.
- An Oklahoma newspaper recently profiled a woman who has kept an orange for 83 years. It's now a family heirloom. This could be a new angle for marketers of not only fruit but also other products. Those who don't like eggplant, for example, might still be persuaded to buy some to pass on to grandchildren one day. Likewise, we might buy bars of soap or even inkjet cartridges to treasure for centuries.
Longtime Fool contributor Selena Maranjian does not own shares of any companies mentioned in this article.
