UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., Aug. 18 -- Pennsylvania State University issued the following news release:

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Economists have long used measures of public sentiment around the economy to forecast a wide range of key financial outcomes, like consumer spending and gross domestic product growth. Now, researchers at Penn State, Florida International University, University of Cincinnati and California State University, Fresno, have used an artificial intelligence-driven approach that analyzes media coverage data and uncovered a significant connection between the public's perception of the economy and hedge fund returns.

Timothy Simin, professor of finance at Penn State's Smeal College of Business, and his co-authors pulled data fro...