In the Stars

Mumbai, India, has its share of Western-style financial advisers using computer programs familiar to Wall Street, but with the additional layering of “financial astrologers,” who forecast successes and failures based on the alignment of the planets, among other indicators. According to a September Business Week report, the GaneshaSpeaks service (with inspiration by the elephant-headed Lord Ganesha, god of wisdom) claims 1,200 subscribers at about $80 a year. Said one astrologer, “Fund managers used to laugh at me.” During crises, he said, “I’m constantly crunching market and planetary data.”