TELEVISION
Crashes and Crises: Lessons from a History of Financial Disasters - Season 1
Series: Crashes and Crises: Lessons from a History of Financial Disasters4.5
(13)
About
Professor Connel Fullenkamp of Duke University guides you through four centuries of economic disasters, from tulip mania in the 1600s to the Great Recession of 2007-2009. Each episode covers a notable incident of financial misfortune or folly and inoculates you against the gullibility, overconfidence, and herd mentality that have lured many to financial ruin.
Related Subjects
Episodes
1. Fintech, Crypto, and the Future of Disaster
29m
Professor Fullenkamp begins the course with the enormous influence of technology on today's investing, which brings with it a frightening potential for crashes and crises. Cover the Flash Crash of 2010 - a dip in the market that was hugely amplified by programmed trading. Then, delve into the phenomenon of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which rely on an innovation called blockchain technology.
2. The Con Men Charles Ponzi and Ivar Kreuger
29m
Investigate two of the most notorious con men who ever lived: Charles Ponzi, after whom the Ponzi scheme is named, and "Match King" Ivar Kreuger, who employed an elaborate variant of Ponzi's swindle. Analyze the three ingredients that most Ponzi schemes share. Above all, learn to identify and be wary of investments that are too good to be true.
3. A Boom in Busts
29m
Contrast the freewheeling financial market of today with the staid system of the immediate post-World War II era. Were financial markets more stable in the past than they are now? How did the present system evolve? What type of market is normal: the steady and predictable kind or the chaotic and sometimes destructive one? In answering these questions, discover why we live in an era of busts.
4. The Tulip Bubble
28m
The 17th-century tulip bubble is a classic case of futures trading run amok. But how much did tulip mania resemble today's speculative markets, as opposed to ordinary gambling? Learn the truth behind this notorious financial bubble, while reflecting on the problem of deciding a fair price for an asset, such as tulip bulbs. Also, consider how bubbles start and end.
5. The South Sea Bubble
28m
Relive the "Wild West" days of the British stock market in the early 18th century, when a financially-strapped government and a public craze for investing created ideal conditions for one of history's most brazen stock manipulators. Trace John Blunt's use of the South Sea Company - and bribery - to generate a stock-buying frenzy, making him fabulously rich - until the bubble inevitably burst.
6. The Mississippi Bubble
27m
Delve into the details of the Mississippi bubble, an early 18th-century financial crisis sparked by speculation in the anticipated wealth of French Louisiana. Learn how the bubble's instigator, John Law, a Scottish gambler and convicted murderer, gained control of the French economy and pushed ideas that were ahead of their time - so far ahead that they plunged France into economic collapse.
7. Holes in the Ground: Mining Stock Frauds
29m
Mining companies were the internet start-ups of the 19th and early 20th centuries, offering a chance to strike it rich - or, more likely, go broke. Focus on the swindling strategy of George Graham Rice, who earned a fortune (and several prison terms) by manipulating mining stock. Discover that Mark Twain and future president Herbert Hoover both had close brushes with shady mining ventures.
8. The Panic of 1907
29m
Until 1920, panics were a recurring feature of economic life in the United States. What caused them and how were they cured? Investigate the Panic of 1907 and the part played by legendary banker J. P. Morgan in stemming a threatened wave of bank failures. The gold standard was an obstacle to managing panics, and the Federal Reserve System, established in 1913, proved to be a powerful antidote.
9. Hyperinflation in Germany and Zimbabwe
31m
Plunge into the economic nightmare of hyperinflation, learning how it happens, when it ends, and the policies that put nations at risk. The classic case of hyperinflation is post-World War I Germany, which faced a multitude of demands on a financial system already crippled by the war. Also, analyze the mistakes that sparked hyperinflation in Zimbabwe in the early 2000s.
10. The Crash of 1929
30m
Dissect the notorious Wall Street crash of 1929, starting with the economic conditions that led to a feverish speculative boom during the "Roaring '20s." Survey investment practices of the day, some of which are now outlawed. Trace the rise in stock prices into the fall of 1929, when a normal market correction seemed underway. Probe explanations for why it suddenly turned into a crash.
Extended Details
- Closed CaptionsEnglish