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Quote of the Day
“I was reading in the paper today that Congress wants to replace the dollar bill with a coin. They’ve already done it. It’s called a nickel.”
-Jay Leno
Although inflation in the U.S. has taken a toll over long periods of time, the U.S. (thankfully) can’t compete with the experience of many other nations. This day in history marks the unveiling of the largest denomination banknote in history. Can you guess the value, or country of origin? Look below for details:
January 16th – This Day in Stock Market History
January 16th, 2009 – Zimbabwe unveils the 100,000,000,000,000 (100 trillion) dollar banknote. It would be the highest denomination banknote in the history of money.
By the end of February it would be worth 31 cents in U.S. dollars.
Inflation rates at the end of 2008 were 89.7 sextillion percent. By April 2009, Zimbabwe would halt printing currency altogether and use the South African Rand and U.S. Dollar only.
Source: German Hyperinflation 1922/23: A Law and Economics Approach
January 16th, 2018 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches 26,000 for the first time. However, the index would fall before the trading day ended, and not close above 26,000 on this day.
The milestone came after a strong stock market rally that began in late 2017, and continued through February 2018, that saw the Dow rise from just over 23,000 to over 26,000 in 2 months.
Investors would not have long to wait to see the 26,000 barrier officially broken. The next day the Dow would rise 322 points to close over 26,000.
Best January 16th in Dow Jones Industrial Average History
1917 – Up 2.05%, 1.96 points.
Worst January 16th in Dow Jones Industrial Average History
1933 – Down 2.33%, 1.47 points.
Read of the Day
You would think Zimbabwe would hold the record for highest inflation right? I did too, until I learned that the “honor” of highest record annual inflation actually goes to Hungary in 1946, when inflation reached 9.63E26 percent (scientific notation) or:
963,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000%
Crazy!
This was just one of the many great facts in, what has now become one of my favorite economic history books: This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly
Chapter 12 of the book is devoted entirely to inflationary episodes in history.
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