A 1920s bubble where prices rise quickly, encouraging hordes of new speculators into the market, overwhelms the only prudential safeguard available at this time, good sense. When the bust comes, the speculators left with devalued assets are ruined and even take down banks along with them. This could describe the nationwide stock market boom and…
Financial bubbles become so large because they have the potential to self-perpetuate. When expectations for future prices are based on a recent trend, the best performing investments in the near future will usually be the same as those which have performed well thus far. If encouraged by greater publicity, credit availability, loose regulation, or an…
The need for insurance becomes most apparent after a major disaster, so disasters tend to be nurturing of innovation in insurance. London’s Great Fire of 1666 was one such disaster. Not only did the destruction require the rebuilding of much of the city, it also prompted the development and proliferation of fire insurance, hitherto little…
Almost everywhere in Europe, the 19th century saw a decline in the power of the aristocracy. Political change was partly the cause, whether implemented by vote or revolution. However, economic changes underway decreased the relative importance of agricultural wealth. Not only were greater fortunes being made in commerce and new industries but maintaining an extravagant…
In the history of financial bubbles, the assets at the center of attention have varied from equity and debt securities to commodities like tulips, indigo, and gold to real estate and land. The last of these was the object of great speculation in the early history of the United States. Indeed, it was a land…
Speculative credit fills a void in capital markets between safe lending to investment grade governments and companies and equity capital which has the last claim in bankruptcy. Speculative credit was also a market neglected by large investors until attitudes towards the asset class changed, especially in the 1980s. Once this happened, risky ventures found a…
Establishing a corporation used to be a rare feat, not as simple as filing a form. Indeed, incorporation and the legal benefits it provided to financial and non-financial firms were closely guarded rights, the product of charters rarely conferred. So, if a corporation’s business model was on the way out and its value dwindling; it…
In 1720, Britain was gripped by the South Sea Bubble. At its center, the South Sea Company, established to consolidate government debt and trade with South America, saw its stock price multiply several times over before crashing to end the year close to where it started. However, several firms saw speculative mania drive their stock…
Few economists are as broadly appreciated today as Henry George. Economic thinkers and ideologues of different stripes – conservatives, liberals, and leftists alike – usually look approvingly on at least some of his ideas. Over a century ago, he sought to explain the paradox of how prospering societies can leave so many in poverty;…
