It was a time of great economic boom in the U.S. after World War I. The economy benefited greatly, fueled by industrialization and rapidly developing new technologies like the automobile and air travel.
This boom took stock market to great heights. From 1920 to 1929 stocks more than quadrupled1 in value. Because of such high soaring stocks, they were considered as extremely safe investments. The common man believed stocks to be a “sure thing” thus researching little into the company whose stocks were being bought. Investors started purchasing stock on “margin”. Investors started getting more and more leverage through margin financing their stock investments. Because of this leverage, if a stock went up by a little percentage, the investor received a magnified profit. Unfortunately, this also works the other way around. Small losses were also amplified. Investors went to the extent of mortgaging house and property because most of them never thought that a crash was......
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Approximate Word Count: 457
Approximate Pages: 2 (260 words per double-spaced page) |