Epstein commissioned a detailed statistical assessment of the correlation between Pentagon technology spending and various potential drivers in 2005, measuring which factors were most intimately linked with the rise and fall of weapons outlays all the way back to 1955.
Those projects, in turn, were set to help the region go some way toward reaching the ambitious broadband connectivity targets set out by Kroes, who (quite rightly, in my view) sees a positive correlation between broadband infrastructure investment and economic growth potential.
One analyst cited potential for gold to ease if it maintains its recent correlation with other markets, such as equities and the broader commodity market.
One way for investors to mitigate high correlation, RBC argues, is concentrating the number of stocks in a portfolio and sacrificing the potential cost of somewhat higher return variance.