The stock market has proved itself to be a lucrative asset for making money for a broad spectrum of people across the world. People have entrusted their time and money in the stock market since May 17, 1792. In this article I will go over the rise and fall of the markets and how they can be caused by several different things. In this article I will cover one very big contributing factor in the fall of the financial sector in 2008; I will talk about what drives the markets, and also a few things that everyone should know before investing their money anywhere.
When investment banks, banks whose sole purpose was to buy and sell stocks, securities, and other investments were founded in the early 1900’s the banking system set up was relatively simple. The investment banks then were privately owned by partners that formed a company. The partners put the money up for the company, therefore they watched their money very closely and didn’t want to make any bad deals. They wanted to be well off but didn’t want to put all their eggs in one basket. In the early 1980’s though investment banks went public and then had access to an unimaginable amount of shareholders money. Now shareholders are the people who buy a company’s stock which means they own a small piece of that company and the company gets to use the money they bought the stock with at their discretion. This gave the investment banks a lot of power. They no longer had to worry about losing their own money, instead if they made a bad deal they lost someone else’s money. This gave the banks a false sense of comfort. They started doing risky deals such as credit default swaps which was accomplished through derivatives. “The standardization of contractual terms allows a loan to be packa...
... middle of paper ...
...a mutual fund over an individual stock is diversification, which you don't get if you invest small amounts of money in a few securities. For example, if you have $10,000 to invest, you can buy maybe 100 shares of five stocks. When you buy a mutual fund, it might own 50 to 100 stocks, so if one stock blows up, the entire fund won't go down in flames. The manager makes sure that the fund is not too heavily exposed to any one stock or sector.” (Bold 1). You can also choose a large medium or small geared more towards value or growth or get a blend of value and growth. It is important to have a professional managing your wealth because he has a vast understanding for the markets and is very versed on diversifying, or spreading out your money to create minimum risk at maximum profit.
There is also another investment, typically for the very wealthy called hedge funds.
Student Answer: Professional management and diversification are the major reasons investors purchase mutual funds, as well as they are easy to invest in for beginning investors or those who lack large amount of money as required by other types of investments. Investment companies are employed with experienced and profession fund managers who research and devote a lot of time to finding the perfect securities for their investment portfolios. The diversification allows for gains, even in a loss, because one investment in a mutual fund can offset the loss of another by it’s gains. Basically, your investments are scattered around and offer somewhat of a safety net for your
It is often said that perception outweighs reality and that is often the view of the stock market. News that a certain stock may be on the rise can set off a buying spree, while a tip that one may be on decline might entice people to sell. The fact that no one really knows what is going to happen one way or the other is inconsequential. John Kenneth Galbraith uses the concept of speculation as a major theme in his book The Great Crash 1929. Galbraith’s portrayal of the market before the crash focuses largely on massive speculation of overvalued stocks which were inevitably going to topple and take the wealth of the shareholders down with it. After all, the prices could not continue to go up forever. Widespread speculation was no doubt a major player in the crash, but many other factors were in play as well. While the speculation argument has some merit, the reasons for the collapse and its lasting effects had many moving parts that cannot be explained so simply.
As the fabulous Roaring Twenties came to an end, The Great Depression soon arrived, from the rapid expansion from the early twenties, to a devastating economic downturn, The Great Stock Market Crash of 1929 came as a shock to millions. During The Stock Market Crash many people suffered because this one major event in history crumbed America. While it appeared to be a total surprise to the people, the great crash was expected because, the Federal Reserve saw rising prices in early September, after World War I everyone spent money, and people put their whole life savings into stocks.
The United States signaled a new era after the end of World War I. It was an era of hopefulness when many people invested their money that was under the mattresses at home or in the bank into the stock market. People migrated to the prosperous cities with the hopes of finding much better life. In the 1920s, the stock market reputation did not appear to be a risky investment, until 1929.First noticeable in 1925, the stock market prices began to rise as more people invested their money. During 1925 and 1926, the stock prices vacillated but in 1927, it had an upward trend. The stock market boom had started by 1928. The stock market was no longer a long-term investment because the boom changed the investor’s way of thinking (“The Stock Market Crash of 1929”). The Stock Market Crash of 1929 was a mass hysteria because of people investing without any prior knowledge and the after effects that eventually led to the Great Depression.
Market crashes are not a new phenomenon but the most disturbing fact about the financial crisis of 2008, was that it was self-inflicted. What started as a credit crunch during the early 2006, turned into a fully-blown recession by mid-2008.The world’s financial system received a huge shock in September 2008, with the collapse of The Lehman Brothers, one of the biggest global investment banks [3]. The Global Financial Crisis of 2008, was undoubtedly the worst economic slump since the Great Depression of 1930. While the bankers and financers hold the responsibility for the global economic turmoil, the business schools have also, being partially responsible, faced criticism.
The Stock Market Crash of 1929 was the most devastating crash in U.S. history. It started on October 24, 1929 and the downfall ended in July 1932. I always wondered what caused this calamity. Before starting this report, I knew basic idea about the crash. It was a time of decline and huge fortunes were lost. Now I can figure out just why.
The stock market crash of 1929 is the primary event that led to the collapse of stability in the nation and ultimately paved the road to the Great Depression. The crash was a wide range of causes that varied throughout the prosperous times of the 1920’s. There were consumers buying on margin, too much faith in businesses and government, and most felt there were large expansions in the stock market. Because of all these...
In October 1929, the United States stock market crashed due to panic selling. This crash started a rippling effect that contributed to a world wide economic crisis called the Great Depression. This crash was such a shock because of the economic expansion of the 1920’s when the Dow Jones average reached an all time high of three hundred eighty one. The year 1928 was a time of optimism and the stock market had become a place where everyday people truly believed that they could become rich. People everywhere were talking about the market and newspapers were reporting stories of ordinary people such as chauffeurs, maids, and teachers making millions off the stock market. People who didn’t have the money bought on margin. The stock market was booming and the excitement about the market caused a lot of over speculation. People ignored the small signs of the impending crash until Black Thursday, October 24, 1929. Four days later the stock market fell again.
The stock market plays a significant role in the health of the economy; the economy has to be strong for a country and its citizens to prosper. In 1929 over a period of two weeks 30 billion dollars disappeared from the U.S. economy, this was the event that started the greatest period of human hardship of the twentieth century known as the great depression. On October 19,1987 the Dow Jones industrial average plunged almost a third of its value. Many investors went completely bankrupt after one day of trading. Both of these crashes came without warning in booming markets are the currently booming markets heading for a collapse? The current market resembles both 1929 and1987 markets but there is a smaller possibility for collapse.
In early 1928 the Dow Jones Average went from a low of 191 early in the year, to a high of 300 in December of 1928 and peaked at 381 in September of 1929. (1929…) It was anticipated that the increases in earnings and dividends would continue. (1929…) The price to earnings ratings rose from 10 to 12 to 20 and higher for the market’s favorite stocks. (1929…) Observers believed that stock market prices in the first 6 months of 1929 were high, while others saw them to be cheap. (1929…) On October 3rd, the Dow Jones Average began to drop, declining through the week of October 14th. (1929…)
In turn everything in the present and the future is judged through the stocks as they hold a high importance in industrialized economies showing the healthiness of said countries economy. As investing discourages consumer spending over all decreases, it lead...
During the 1920s, approximately 20 million Americans took advantage of post-war prosperity by purchasing shares of stock in various securities exchanges. When the stock market crashed in 1929, the fortunes of many investors were lost. In addition, banks lost great sums of money in the Crash because they had invested heavily in the markets. When people feared their banks might not be able to pay back the money that depositors had in their accounts, a “run” on the banking system caused many bank failures. After the crash, public confidence in the market and the economy fell sharply. In response, Congress held hearings to identify the problems and look for solutions; the answer was found in the new SEC. The Commission was established in 1934 to enforce new securities laws that were passed with the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The two new laws stated that “Companies publicly offering securities must tell the public the truth about their businesses, the securities they are selling and the risks involved in the investing.” Secondly, “People who sell and trade securities must treat investors fairly and honestly, putting investors’ interests first.”2
Many of the “Elite” financial figures could not give a definite answer about why this crisis occurred as well as stated by many of the people interviewed, “We don’t know how it happened.” Many young brokers working for JP Morgan back in the middle of the 90’s believed they could come up with a way to cut risk, credit derivatives. Credit Derivatives are just a way of using other methods to separate and transfer risk to someone else other than the vender and free up capital. They tested their experiment with Exxon Mobile who were facing millions of dollars in damage for the Valdez Oil Spill back in 1989 by extending their line of credit. This also gave birth to credit default swaps (CDS) which a company wants to borrow money from someone who will buy their bond and pay the buyer back with interest over time. Once the JP Morgan and Exxon Mobile credit default swap happened, others followed in their path and the CDS began booming throughout the 90’s. The issue was that many banks in...
We analyzed the market for two weeks to determine when the equity market would turn from a bearish to bullish market. Without a change in the market and a declining bond price, we decided to invest in equities according to our investment strategy, which brought us into the second phase of our portfolio. Therefore, at the beginning of February we bought shares in Sirius, Microsoft, Neon, Washington Mutual, and Nike. As assumed, the equity market continued to plummet decreasing the value of all our stocks except for our Gold Corporation stock.
The Wall Street Crash and The Great Depression When the stock market collapsed on Wall Street on Tuesday, October 29, 1929, it sent financial markets worldwide into a tailspin with disastrous effects of the sand. The German economy was especially vulnerable since It was built out of foreign capital, mostly loans from America and was dependent on foreign trade. When those loans suddenly came due and when the world market for German exports dried up, the well oiled German industrial machinery quickly ground to a halt. As production levels fell, German workers were laid off. Along with this, banks failed throughout Germany.