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Quote of the Day
“The essence of investment management is the management of risks, not the management of returns.”
– Benjamin Graham
On this day in 2008, the fragility of Lehman Brothers came into full view. The bank’s downfall showed that even the most established firms can crumble when risk management takes a back seat to growth and leverage.
September 12th – This Day in Stock Market History
September 12th, 2001 – U.S. Markets Remain Closed After 9/11, Global Stocks Plunge
The day after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, U.S. financial markets remained shuttered in an unprecedented precautionary move.
On this day, the NYSE, Nasdaq, and other U.S. exchanges stayed closed, marking the longest weather- or crisis-related shutdown since the Great Depression.
Ultimately, with Wall Street’s infrastructure disrupted and uncertainty high, authorities would keep the exchanges closed for four full business days before reopening on September 17th.
Global markets, however, reacted immediately. European exchanges plunged on Sept. 12, with Germany’s DAX down 8.5% and London’s FTSE off 5.7% as investors worldwide sold stocks in the attack’s aftermath.
When U.S. markets finally reopened on September 17th, the Dow fell 7% in a single day.
September 12th, 2008 – Lehman Brothers on the Brink of Collapse
By Friday, September 12, 2008, investment bank Lehman Brothers was teetering on the edge of collapse, a pivotal moment in the 2008 financial crisis.
That evening, the New York Fed convened an emergency meeting with top Wall Street CEOs to find a private rescue for Lehman Brothers. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson pointedly warned that no government bailout was forthcoming, pressuring banks to devise their own solution.
Lehman’s stock had been in freefall all week – by the close of Sept. 12 its shares traded for only a few dollars, down over 90% from a year earlier. When no buyer emerged over the weekend, Lehman filed for bankruptcy on Monday, September 15th, and its stock plunged 93% from its Friday close to virtually zero.
The collapse of this 158-year-old firm sent shockwaves through global markets and credit systems.
September 12th, 2013 – Twitter Announces IPO via a Tweet
Social media met Wall Street in a novel way on this day in 2013, when Twitter announced its intent to go public with a tweet:
“We’ve confidentially submitted an S-1 to the SEC for a planned IPO.”
This brief message sent tech investors into a frenzy, as Twitter was one of the most anticipated initial public offerings since Facebook’s 2012 debut. The tweet revealed that Twitter had filed paperwork under a JOBS Act provision allowing emerging companies to file IPO documents confidentially. Although Twitter’s actual IPO would not occur until November 7th, 2013, this September 12th disclosure confirmed the company’s plans and sparked immediate speculation about its valuation and prospects.
In private markets, Twitter’s implied valuation jumped, and the media buzz kicked off a two-month hype cycle leading to the IPO. Twitter’s quirky announcement method – using its own platform – also symbolized the growing influence of social media in finance news dissemination.
Ironically enough, Twitter’s takeover by Elon Musk on October 27, 2022 would also play out dramatically on the social media site.
Reads of the Day
Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal by Nick Bilton
This book pulls back the curtain on Twitter’s turbulent early years, chronicling the battles between its founders over control, vision, and money. Far from a smooth Silicon Valley success story, Twitter’s rise was marked by betrayal and shifting alliances, yet it became one of the most influential platforms in the world.
On September 12, 2013, Twitter made headlines by announcing its plans for an IPO with a simple tweet — a moment that symbolized both the company’s chaotic brilliance and its enormous cultural impact. For investors, the book is a reminder that behind every hyped IPO lies a messy, very human story of risk, ambition, and uncertainty.