Archive for the ‘Stock Market’ Category

Stock Market Crashes: A Volatile History

Friday, January 20th, 2012


The stock market can be a volatile game. We hear, regularly, about the unstable nature of stocks and stock markets, but what few people realize is that most of the time the stock market remains fairly stable. That, simply put, is why crashes of stock markets are considered big news. There have been several notable stock market crashes, but each has had a specific reason associated with the crash.

On October 29, 1929, now known as Black Tuesday, is one of the worst and earliest recorded stock market crashes. The New York Stock Exchange became artificial, over-inflated. People borrowed money from lenders to buy high-priced stocks in an attempt to sell them for a profit, repay the lenders and keep the difference. The stocks, however, fell sharply, sent people into a tailspin which crashed the market. It is consider the official start of the Great Depression.

On October 16, 1987 the market once again took a turn for the worse. News of a major, U.S., trade deficit broke on the 14th of that money and led to a massive selling of stocks which caused the market to crash. It lost over 100 points in October 16th and an additional 400 points on October 19th. The NYSE lost 22% of its value due to the news.

Following the attacks of September 11th, 2001 the global stock market took a nose dive that is considered one of the worst stock crashes in history. The attacks greatly affected global stocks, disrupted the U.S. dollar and caused significant rises in oil prices. The changes in the market led investors to head for saver commodities such as gold. The NYSE remained closed in the days following September 11th, but international markets took a significant hit.

On May 6th, 2010 the Dow Jones industrial experienced a “flash crash”. The market saw a 1,000 point drop in a single day, but recovered partially by the close of business. The concern regarding the debt crisis in Greece was partially to blame for the flash crash.

Each stock market crash has been attributed to specific instances, but it is safe to say that all news, regardless of what it entails, could potentially cause a problem within an economically unstable world. It is safe to say that the world of stock markets can be thrilling and volatile all that the same time.

Biggest Financial Gains in History of Stock Market

Friday, November 25th, 2011

The biggest financial gains in the history of the stock market, have not come when many people would expect. There are factors that effect the group thinking of stock market movements and how people moving through the stock trade act psychologically. In some sense, stock market buyers, sellers, and traders act more like gamblers than anything else that would be comparable. Here is the reasoning why this analogy is often made.

Examples of this are evident, if you observe stock exchange behavior just before the famous Black Monday crashes of 1929 and 1987. Both were preceded by some of the biggest financial gains in the history of the stock market, at each of those individuals periods. These crashes have raised any number of questions and speculations about how market fluctuation should be interpreted. Also these crashes were followed by mass liquidation of stock holdings by many fearful investors. So this did end up contributing to the crashes and their devastating results.

Another example of this is what are called the bubble years of the 1990s stock market. Many companies were setting records for stock pricing on the indexes, some almost monthly or more often. Quite a number of eventually money losing companies were worth billions of dollars, at least on paper. Because of this their holdings sold wildly and high priced on the day of their public auctions. Yet this was far from the truth once these huge one day markets would pass. One day spikes were a cause of much stock market confusion and losses during the middle to late 1990s. These are not considered safe.

So when examining the biggest financial gains in the history of the stock market, it must be looked at with perspective and clarity to gain any real insight. High stock values, races to purchase stocks, and sudden fluctuations in trades are not always an indicator of a good solid stock market. Investments are not generated in such short term profits for the most part. Wise investments are made with consistent profits in the long term, such are safer and more realistic. Profits should be steady and not fluctuating. Any wise investment adviser will tell their clients this and it is good advice to take to heart. The biggest financial gains cannot be assumed to guarantee a steady growth in the market, this is true today and it has been true in decades past.