(9/21/99)
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A yucca plant is the latest investor on the Stockholm stock exchange, issuing buy and sell orders on the exchange's 16 most traded shares.
Swedish artist Ola Pehrson has attached electrodes to the plant's leaves and, through a sensor, can feel the plant's growth with movements linked to a computer program tracking the 16 most active stocks.
When the yucca's stock recommendations perform better than the bourse's general index, it is given water and light.
If the plant fails to deliver profits, it stays dry and in the dark.
The yucca is part of an exhibition by seven Swedish artists in Stockholm, which also includes a marigold that pilots an airplane and a pole bean plant that has a degree in nuclear physics.
Currently, the yucca plant's recommendations have earned it a 1022 percent profit.