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Quote of the Day
It takes character to sit there with all that cash and do nothing. I didn’t get to where I am by going after mediocre opportunities.
— Charlie Munger
November 9th – This Day in Stock Market History – Low of the “Rich Man’s Panic”
1903 – Low point for panic known as the “rich man’s panic” as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at 42.15.
The panic was called the “rich man’s panic” because it was said that only rich people held stocks and bonds after a sharp selloff the year before, and the decline was primarily in the large trust companies that flourished at the time.
Chart from Wall Street Waltz
The selloff, which began as early as 1901 was likely due to a number of reasons. First, President McKinley’s assassination attempt on September 6th (He would die on the 14th) sent the stock market reeling, interest rates were high, stock offerings were high and President Theodore Roosevelt was aggressively trying to break up large trust companies.
In total, the stock market declined 46% from its highs in 1901 through this day in 1903.
Some of the more notable declines of the rich man’s panic: U.S. Steel went from $55 to $10. U.S. Rubber declined from 44 to 8 and American Can fell 90%!
Best November 11th in Dow Jones Industrial Average History
1911 – Up 2.92%, 1.67 points.
Worst November 11th in Dow Jones Industrial Average History
1932 – Down 4.51%, 2.91 points.
Read of the Day
History books are a huge source of content for our “This day in stock market history” series here on Begin To Invest. One of my favorites is 101 Years on Wall Street- An Investor’s Almanac
Charlie Munger, who also has the quote of the day above, has said:
“Business Schools fail by teaching what is easy to teach but less useful. Going back to teaching business history as Harvard used to would be good; there’s a lot to be learned from the rise and fall of GM, or the rise and fall of railroads.”
Studying history is the best way I know to learn the lasting lessons from the past. 101 Years on Wall Street does an excellent job with showing in detail how the stock markets performed, notable events and fascinating stories of the times.
