April 16th – This Day in Stock Market History

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Quote of the Day

“At a relatively early age, I began to believe that building a business was perhaps the greatest opportunity for making an impact, because it’s a tool for making a change in the world.”

-Elizabeth Holmes, who on this day in 2015 was named one of Time’s most influential people. She would later be charged with defrauding investors out of more than $700 million. Although what she said may be true…

April 16th – This Day in Stock Market History

April 16th, 1964 – Texas Gulf Sulphur Company announces that it has discovered a large copper strike 350 miles north of Toronto. Little did investors know that management had known of the copper content for months, and had been aggressively buying up the company’s shares prior to the announcement.

This revelation would lead to a landmark trial responsible for today’s insider trading laws.

The parcel of land, known as the Kidd-55 segment was originally scouted by the company in 1959, and took years to acquire drilling rights and set up a rig to get samples.

By November of 1963, the company had its first core samples, the result of which were “beyond your wildest imagination” according to a Canadian stock broker who focused on the mining industry. In November 1963, the price of Texas Gulf Sulfur company’s shares were in the low 30s. By 1966 shares would be over $100.

Here is how the New York Times reported on the news:

New York Times Coverage of Texas Gulf Sulfur Co's discovery
New York Times Coverage of Texas Gulf Sulfur Co’s discovery

There is an entire chapter devoted to the Texas Gulf Sulfur Company’s discovery, insider purchases, and subsequent court case in the book Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street

In case you need further reason to check out the book…Bill Gates has said that Business Adventures is one of his favorite business books, and the book was recommended to him by Warren Buffett.

April 16th, 1984 – Time Magazine puts 26 year old Bill Gates on the cover.

Bill Gates on the cover of Time magazine on April 16th, 1986
Bill Gates on the cover of Time magazine on April 16th, 1984

Source: Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire

At the time, Microsoft was still only on MS-DOS.

The company would release Microsoft Excel a year and a half later in November 1985, and Microsoft would go public 2 years later on March 13th, 1986.

April 16th, 2015 – Elizabeth Holmes, the founder and CEO of Theranos, is named one of TIME’s “100 Most Influential People” of 2015.

Times_Holmes_person_of_the_year

In March of 2018, Holmes would be charged with defrauding investors for more than $700 million.


Best  April 16th in Dow Jones Industrial Average History

1938 – Up 3.58%, 4.18 points.

Worst April 16th in Dow Jones Industrial Average History

1900 – Down 4.43%, 2.08 points.


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