"Forecasting with Internet Search Data"

The blog at the NY Fed, Liberty Street Economics, takes a look at the ability of internet search data to forecast financial market data. The conclusion from Rebecca Hellerstein and Menno Middeldorp is that:

 We find that Internet search counts possess useful information, not available in other variables, to now-cast or forecast the trajectory of some financial market data. While this predictive power is by no means universal—as we observe above, for a number of markets, Internet search data do not provide explanatory power beyond that of more traditional forecasting methods—the basic message is of a useful addition to the economist’s toolkit.

More here.