1929 Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression - Documentary

1929 Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression - Documentary
2,255,052 views • Jul 6, 2018
BBC documentary

Brief History of that other economic designed crash of 1929

On October 29, 1929, Black Tuesday hit Wall Street as investors traded some 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day. Billions of dollars were lost, wiping out thousands of investors. In the aftermath of Black Tuesday, America and the rest of the industrialized world spiraled downward into the Great Depression (1929-39), the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world up to that time.

1929 Stock Market Crash

During the 1920s, the U.S. stock market underwent rapid expansion, reaching its peak in August 1929, after a period of wild speculation. By then, production had already declined and unemployment had risen, leaving stocks in great excess of their real value. Among the other causes of the eventual market collapse were low wages, the proliferation of debt, a struggling agricultural sector and an excess of large bank loans that could not be liquidated.

Stock prices began to decline in September and early October 1929, and on October 18 the fall began. Panic set in, and on October 24, Black Thursday, a record 12,894,650 shares were traded. Investment companies and leading bankers attempted to stabilize the market by buying up great blocks of stock, producing a moderate rally on Friday. On Monday, however, the storm broke anew, and the market went into free fall. Black Monday was followed by Black Tuesday (October 29), in which stock prices collapsed completely and 16,410,030 shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day. Billions of dollars were lost, wiping out thousands of investors, and stock tickers ran hours behind because the machinery could not handle the tremendous volume of trading.

1929 Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression

After October 29, 1929, stock prices had nowhere to go but up, so there was considerable recovery during succeeding weeks. Overall, however, prices continued to drop as the United States slumped into the Great Depression, and by 1932 stocks were worth only about 20 percent of their value in the summer of 1929. The stock market crash of 1929 was not the sole cause of the Great Depression, but it did act to accelerate the global economic collapse of which it was also a symptom. By 1933, nearly half of America’s banks had failed, and unemployment was approaching 15 million people, or 30 percent of the workforce.

Will This be the Next Great Depression?
• Mar 26, 2020

In 1929, years of wild debt fuelled speculation over company stocks came to a halt with the worste economic disaster in history. In 2001, years of wild debt fuelled speculation over technology companies that were apparently going to revolutionise the future came to a halt when most were shown to be worthless.

And in 2008 years of debt fuelled speculation from borrowers that just needed that 5th investment properties and the bankers that were more than willing to accommodate this to sell some more mortgage bonds, came to a grinding halt when people realised that everything propping up this speculation was based on absolute garbage.

As of making this video we have just lived through the fastest 30% market decline in US history outpacing all of the examples I just listed above, and it is easy to think this is different.

But it is not...

I have zero money in the stock market. Mostly because I don’t pay too much attention to it, and I’m afraid of investing on things I can’t touch. I have cash in the bank. I own some real estate, and a rental property. My Gramps gave me a 100 lbs of silver coins that he saved when he owned a bar. I also own 15 1 oz gold Krugerrands. I believe the US is soon to have a real financial meltdown down. I don’t have any confidence in the leadership in the states. I am afraid that because of the bailouts, subsidies, unemployment, shutdowns, coupled with the national debt, the dollar could be worth less then it is right now. This scares the piss out of me, because it takes effort and self control to save money.

Cash, is king.

People who are heavily weighted in gold or silver forget one thing - grocery stores and gas stations may not be able to break an ingot, or a coin, that's worth more the change on hand.

True, but it’s a hedge against a falling dollar. My main concern and motivation.