THIS DAY IN ECONOMIC HISTORY

Unsucessful Assassination Good For Business

On this day in 1950 an assassination attempt was made on President Harry Truman. In the aftermath of this unsuccessful attempt Wall Street traders relieved by the news that Truman was safe went on a modest buying spree in the stock market. The Dow posted modest gains for the day.

Reaganomics

The percentage of the workforce remaining unemployed lingered at 7.4 on this day, while the service industry began to rise, providing less security and lower wages than factory-based work.

Unemployment Numbers Stay The Same

On this day in 1982 the labor department's report on unemployment reported 7.4% of the workforce was unemployed. This number had remained relatively the same for the previous two years. The blame was put on the United States shift from higher paying manufacturing jobs to lower paying commercial jobs.

Ka-Ching!

On this day in 1880 one of the most instrumental items in the modern economy is invented in Dayton, Ohio. The item is the cash register.

Do Not Pass Go. Do Not Collect $200

Many Americans were able to escape their woes stemming from the Great Depression by playing Monopoly. Parker Brothers first introduced the popular board game for the first time on this day in 1935.

Charles Henry Dow Is Born

On this day in 1851 Charles Henry Dow is born. Dow and his business partner Edward Jones started reporting summaries of the day's events on Wall Street. These summaries later turned into the Wall Street Journal. Dow also developed a statistical method to measure the market that has since become the Dow Jones average.

Rumor Closes The Stock Exchange

On this day in 1918 Wall Street traders joyful of the news that a treaty had been signed ending World War I closed the New York Stock Exchange early. It was found out later that no treaty had been signed and they had closed down the stock market on a rumor. It took another week for the armistice to be signed, which drew an end to the war.

CWA Created

On this day in 1933 FDR unveils the Civil Works Administration (CWA). This New Deal program provided blue and white-collar jobs to the ailing American workforce. Though only temporary, the CWA was reported to have pumped $1 billion into the economy by May of 1934.

Rich Man's Panic

On this day in 1903 the Dow dropped to 42.15. The stocks of industrial companies dropped to single digits and a financial crisis ensued for the rest of the year. This drop in the market was later coined the "Rich Man's Panic."

Superconductor Never Conducts

On this day in 1988 energy secretary John Harrington announce Texas would be the home of the $4.4 billion dollar superconductor. Before the announcement many different state's representatives were wrangling for this lucrative development. Many of these representatives bitter by the placement of the development threatened to kill the appropriations bill for the first phase of construction. True to their word the project was shut down in 1993.

Boston Blaze Felt In New York

The blaze the engulfed Boston on this day in 1872 caused a slump in the stock market that lasted well into the next year.

Drive Through Banking

On this day in 1946 the nations first drive-through bank was introduced. This distinctly American invention was the idea of the Exchange National Bank of Chicago. It implemented 10 drive-through windows.

Stock Exchange Gets Connected

On this day in 1879 the New York Stock Exchange gets connected to the modern world by installing telegraph and telephone lines.

Idea Causes Decline

The slumping American economy was a major concern for President Bush in 1991. In an effort to alleviate some of the nation's economic problems he discussed the idea of capping credit card interest rates. This idea leaked and angered many investors and stock traders. On this day in 1991 the leak caused a day of panicked trading causing the Dow to loose 120 points.

Stock Ticker Unveiled

On this day in 1876 the stock ticker was unveiled. The stock ticker sent a continuous stream of information to traders concerning stocks. Ticker tape has also been known to liven up parades.

First Federal Reserve Bank Opens

On this day in 1914 the Federal Reserve's first bank is officially opened. The Federal Reserve was created as a unifying body of the nation's banks. Before the Fed the nation's banks were all independent. After the Fed was established it provided the nation's banks with universal interest rates and other tools to keep banking crises from emerging. Although the Fed was intended to be a passive system in recent years it has taken a more active role in the nation's monetary policy.

Sony Drops Columbia

On this day in 1994 Sony writes off their ailing movie production studio Columbia. In 1989 Sony purchased Columbia to help them corner all sides of the movie entertainment market. Sony was primarily an electronic hardware company so in buying Columbia they hoped to have movie production under their belts as well. But after Columbia produced a series of flops in the early 1990's resulting in losses of $3.4 billion Sony decided to swallow the bitter pill and write off Columbia for $2.7 billion.

Joe Kennedy Dies

Many know about John F. Kennedy but they probably do not know about his father, Joe Kennedy. Joe was a legend on Wall Street in the early 1900's, became a bank president by the age of 25, and a millionaire by 30. Joe also dabbled in more unsavory business ventures such as bootlegging operations during prohibition. Joe had a vision of having one of his sons become President of the United States, and his vision was realized in 1960 when his son John became the country's 35th President. After living to the age of 81 years Joe Kennedy died on this day in 1969.

Texaco Makes Pennzoil Rich

The biggest court ordered verdict in civil court history was handed down on this day in 1985. The lawsuit stemmed from oil industry giant Pennzoil acquisition of Getty Oil for $5.3 billion. The deal was made but both parties did not sign the contract. Smelling opportunity, Texaco decided to offer twice what Pennzoil offered and Getty quickly signed on with Texaco. The action by Texaco quickly triggered the lawsuit by Pennzoil. Even without a signed document the court said there was a binding agreement between Pennzoil and Getty Oil. The court ordered Texaco to pay $10.53 billion to Pennzoil. This verdict was the largest civil verdict in court history.

Shopper Breathe Easier

On this day in 1967 President Lyndon Johnson announced the formation of the National Commission on Product Safety. This new agency was charged with exploring the efficacy of Federal consumer protection legislation and safeguarding the public against "hazardous products."

Milken Recieves 10 Years

On this day in 1990 Michael Milken was sentenced to 10 years in prison for various securities laws infractions. Milken was the CEO of Drexel Burnham and during the 1980s was considered a Wall Street heavy weight. But his success was seemingly built and maintained with corrupt practices. After a four-year probe on his business practices Milken was brought in to face justice in 1990.

Assassination Causes Panic

On this day in 1963 John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas. The assassination of the American President causes Wall Street Traders to panic. The resulting sell off of stocks caused by the panic made the New York Stock Exchange drop $13 billion in just a few hours.

Chicago Board Of Trade Issues Restrictions

On this day in 1987 the Chicago Board of Trade issued price ceilings on Major Market Index future and the Institutional Index future. Under these limits, the 20 stocks on the Major and Institutional indices were restricted to moves of no more than 40 and 25 points, respectively. These new restrictions were done as a precautionary measure after the record crash in October of 1987.

Circuit Breaker Used On Wall Street

On this day in 1997 the New York Stock Exchange put into effect for the first time the "circuit breaker" rule. This rule was used to halt trading when the market was loosing large percentages of its holdings. The market plunged 554.26 points before the circuit breaker was put into effect. The halt on trading received many grumbles from the traders and soon the rule was revamped to shut off trading when the market lost at least 10 to 20 percent of its value.

Sony Founder Retires

Akio Morita founder of consumer electronic giant Sony retires on this day in 1994. Sony was floundering in the early 1990s due in part to Sony's ill-fated decision to acquire Columbia Pictures. Morita and business partner Masaru Ibuka started Sony in 1946 with only $500.

Matsushita Buys Mca

In a move that paralleled Sony a year, Matsushita Electronic Industrial Co. dished out $6.6 billion on this day in 1990 to acquire MCA.

U.S. Steel Shuts Down Plants

On this day in 1979 U.S. Steel announces it would be shutting down 12 plants and slowing down production in many others. The company blamed its losses on government restrictions and "unfairly priced imports."

America Drops Coffee

On this day in 1942 the American people were asked to make a monumental sacrifice. Due to rationing the government asked Americans to forgo coffee to help the war effort.

Chrysler Thinks Smaller

On this day in 1973 limping auto manufacturer Chrysler halts production on its larger boat sized cars to adopt a more compact economy car.

11 Traders Face Stiff Penalties

On this day in 1995 the United States Justice Department indicted 11 brokers for scheming to swipe investor's money. The rulings came with the usual fines but this case also tacked on prison terms for the 11 criminals.