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Tuesday at 9pm
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Monday at 11pm
Charlie Rose: Episode #15237
Tuesday at 11pm
Charlie Rose: Episode #15238
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Charlie Rose: Episode #15239
Thursday at 11pm
News & Current Affairs
The Ascent of Money
(Part 2 of 4)
Why do stock markets produce bubbles and busts? The answer is that they magnify the human tendency to swing from greed to fear. The first true corporation, the Dutch East India Company, rewarded its investors handsomely over 200 years. But when new monopoly trading companies like the Mississippi and South Sea Company were set up in France and England in the early 18th century, people acted as though their profits would be boundless. When it turned out that the companies were run for the benefit of insiders at the expense of naive first-time investors, the bubbles burst. The world's first stock market crash, in 1719-20, may well have sown the seeds of the French Revolution. Since then – and most notably in 1929 – stock market bubbles and busts have sent recurrent shockwaves through the real economy. The recent dotcom bubble illustrated how the combination of easy money and "irrational exuberance" can send stock prices through the roof, then through the floor. The rise and fall of Enron was like a modern-day version of the Mississippi bubble in 18th-century France: a spectacular fraud that was hailed as a triumph before the bubble burst. A little historical knowledge, Ferguson suggests, might have helped investors see the reckoning coming in 2001.
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The Ascent of Money
'Where did money come from, and where did it all go?'
Tuesday, Jan. 13
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Episode Guide
The Ascent of Money
(Part 4 of 4)
first aired: July 29, 2009 (#104)
Emerging markets used to be where emergencies occurred. Now, they're where ...
(Part 3 of 4)
first aired: July 22, 2009 (#103)
Starting in post-Katrina New Orleans, Ferguson asks why the free market ...
(Part 2 of 4)
first aired: July 15, 2009 (#102)
Why do stock markets produce bubbles and busts? The answer is that they ...
(Part 1 of 4)
first aired: July 8, 2009 (#101)
From ancient Mesopotamia to Renaissance Italy, Niall Ferguson explains ...
Javascript is required to view this web page.
More discussions about
The Ascent of Money
'Where did money come from, and where did it all go?'
Tuesday, Jan. 13
What's your point of view?
Javascript is required to view this web page.
THIS SITE REQUIRES JAVASCRIPT
Please enable javascript in your browser.
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We welcome your comments, and hope to host energetic, civil discussions. As you post, please keep the following in mind:
Keep your comments focused on the topic at hand.
Don't use profanity, personal attacks or hate speech.
Don't promote a business or raise money.
When all else fails, think "Golden Rule": Treat others the way you'd like to be treated yourself.
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Featured video
"Part 4: Planet Finance" ›
More "The Ascent of Money" ›
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