Betting On The Market: Flashback To 1997

I spent some time this morning watching this fascinating short film from PBS released in 1997 called "Betting On The Market."  All clips are real time interviews from that year during what is now seen as the beginning of the bubble years for the stock market's final burst of hysteria.  (Greenspan gave his famous "Irrational Exuberance" speech in 1996 which is widely considered the point when the market entered the bubble phase)  We know now that the stock market collapsed just 3 short years later beginning in March of 2000, decimating the dreams of just about everyone shown on this film.

I did not have the good fortune to be an active participant during the 1996 - 2000 bubble years (I was in high school worried exclusively about girls and playing basketball), which makes it that much more interesting to watch what was taking place during that time.  While I have taken the time to read many books describing mania's, panics, and crashes going back hundreds of years, it is completely different when you can visually see it.

As I have said many times, I believe it is extremely important to study the past in order to understand what is ahead for the future.

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