Financial Context: Recent Episodes
Nathan Beauvais
Financial Context to a show about the history of markets and economics. Join Nate Beauvais and Dan Sowa as the examine stories from the past that help shed light on today's events.
The automobile itself was somewhat like a Trojan Horse. The business practices and consumption culture that was ushered in at the beginning of the 20th century would come to be known as Fordism. In this episode Nate & Dan discuss the life and legacy of Henry Ford, how he revolutionized manufacturing and how he created a brand new "want" among consumers.
When rumors of untold riches in the East Indies started swirling around London's merchant class in the late 16th century, a corporation was soon formed to take advantage. Over the next 2 centuries this relatively small group would go on to be one of the world's first global empires. And while the British East India Company raised the standards of living back home, the same could not be said for India. In this podcast Nate & Dan discuss the first ever "mega-cap" stock.
Nate & Dan finish the story of the original Black Friday and how Jay Gould and Jim Fisk were able to arrange the New York legislature to award them instead of their rivals.
In September of 1869 some of the country's wealthiest people fought over gold. The bulls were led by Jay Gould and Jim Fisk while the bears were organized by Jay Cooke and James Brown. The sitting US president Ulysses Grant was also involved. The story takes place during the Gilded Aged and is a prime example of the corruption and wealth that was on display during the post-Civil War period.
In 1720 the British public were one of the first peoples to experience mass market manipulation. In this month's episode Nate & Dan discuss the story of the South Sea company which was granted a monopoly to trade in the new world by the British government. What ensued was a classic financial bubble.
In this episode Nate and Dan are joined by Dave Blazejewski to discuss the bankruptcy of Penn Station (the largest ever at the time) and why passenger rail transport all but disappeared from corporate America during the second half of the 20th century.
Nate & Dan continue discuss the history of railroads in America. In the month's episode, they talk about the story of the second transcontinental railroad which essential bankrupted one of the country's richest men, Jay Cooke.
In this month's episode, Nate and Dan recall one of the most corrupt events in American history. At the time it was started, no one believed that the Transcontinental Railroad would be profitable. The federal government had to put up the cash for the project initially. And when the government sponsors such a huge project, the cash starts flowing - and many times in unintended directions.
In 1868 two of the country's most powerful and wealthiest men battled it out for control of the Erie Railway. Cornelius Vanderbilt and Daniel Drew were the epitome of "frenemies". They were also not shy about bribing lawmakers and the politicians were happy to take their cash.
In part two of this conversation Nate and Dan talk about how the gold standard in the US began to wane beginning with Great Depression and ending when President Nixon official cut the link.
Today's monetary systems is nothing like the past. In this month FC podcast, Nate and Dan examine the very long transition from a gold standard to a fiat currency in US. In part one, the guys talk about how the gold standard functioned in the time period before the Great Depression.
After the clergy took control of Iran in 1979, chaos ensued throughout global oil markets. In this month's podcast Nate and Dan pick up where they left off and discuss how and why oil prices more than doubled in the early 1980s and the mechanism for the demand destruction the eventually brought prices back in balance.
In this month's podcast Nate and Dan discuss the revolution that had the biggest and fastest impact on the global economy. In 1979 decades of US "grooming" in Iran were undone when the clergy overthrew the Shah and took control of the country and oil fields. In part one of this episode, we discuss the history of Iran during the 1950's, 60's and early 70's, the prelude to revolution.
Nate and Dan keep the revolution streak going this month by retelling one of the most importnat and impactful stories in modern history.
In this month's episode, Nate & Dan examine one of the most important events of the 20th century through the lense of economics.
He's considered one of the greatest investors of all time. In this month's episode Nate & Dan tell the ironic story of how Warren Buffett came to own Berkshire Hataway.
The Panic of 1907 was a financial crisis in the United States marked by a stock market crash and a run on banks. Triggered by the collapse of a major trust company, it led to widespread panic and financial instability. J.P. Morgan intervened to restore confidence, establishing the precedent for future government intervention in financial crises.
In 1824 a landmark case heard by the SCOTUS settled an early dispute in the US about the power individual states had to regulate commerce. In this month's podcast, Nate and Dan tell the story of how a monopoly in the Hudson River started out as a great idea but quickly became unpopular.
He is considered the father of the nation's financial system. In this month's episode Nate & Dan discuss the first US Treasurer Alexander Hamilton, his policies and why he created a lot of enemies while in office.
It wasn't so much the Great Depression that changed America but United States Government's response to it that help shaped the future. In this month's episode Nate & Dan discuss FDR's policies and just how game-changing they were.
While the effects of the Great Depression are well known, the causes are a lot more confusing. Broad or simple explanations say less about the event and more about the person speaking. In this month's show Nate & Dan attempt to explain what actually happened nearly 100 years ago.
In this month's show Nate & Dan discuss the most infamous swindler in financial history: Bernie Madoff. They also talk about the original con artist, Charles Ponzi.
In part 2 of this episode Nate and Dan discuss how the John Rockefeller's oil juggernaut came under attack not by competitors but by the public and politicians.
The first truly global corporation began to take shape in the 1970's when the Standard Oil trust was formed. It would eventually control close to 90% of American oil refining. In this month's episode of Financial Context, Nate and Dan talk about how John Rockefeller and co. supplied kerosene for a nation before the advent of electricity and the somewhat suspect business practices they used along the way.
Only about a decade after the California Gold rush another speculative boom occurred in the US. This time the epicenter would be in western Pennsylvania as the first oil wells were first successfully drilled for.
After the Great Depression and the Civil War, no event transformed the United States quite like the California Gold Rush. It ushered in a time of economic, geographical and cultural expansion. In this episode we revisit an event that most children learn about in school.
For more than 150 years the "beacon of free markets", the New York Stock Exchange operated as a cartel and fixed prices that its members could charge. Only in 1975 under the pressure from the Department of Justice and the Securities Exchange Commission did the "Big Board" eventually change its fixed commission regime.
For more than 150 years the "beacon of free markets", the New York Stock Exchange operated as a cartel and fixed prices that its members could charge. Only in 1975 under the pressure from the Department of Justice and the Securities Exchange Commission did the "Big Board" eventually change its fixed commission regime.
In the 1970's Chuck Schwab founded what would become the third largest asset manager in the world. But like any business, when it started it relied on perseverance and luck.
Warren Buffet once said it is only when the tide goes out that you see whos been swimming naked. When the proverbial tide did go out on the economy and stock market in 1929 a mysterious man from Scandinavia definitely won the prize as the most naked swimmer.
Capitalism didn't invent the marketplace. At some point in history governments started to protect the rights of individuals participating in that marketplace and that was really the birth of capitalism. In this episode we explore the events that lead to Adam Smith's famous economic manifesto "The Wealth of Nations" and how the global economy went from being a static, zero-sum-game to an one base on growth.
Books referenced: Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harai
Most people know Mark Twain as the prolific writer that he was. What most don't know is that he was also one of the worst investors whos life shows that making money and managing it are often two totally different things.
Charlie Merrill was one of the few people sounding the alarm about the stock market in 1929. After spending the Great Depression out of the securities business, he came back to Merrill Lynch in the 1940's with a whole new approach towards the industry: marketing directly to small investors.
In September of 1958 Bank of America mailed 60,000 fully functional credit cards to residents in Fresno, California. While the consumer credit card is ubiquitous today, at that time it was met with resistance and was anything by profitable for the bank at first.
Before there was the Federal Reserve there was JP Morgan. Born in 1837, he would become the United State's most powerful banker. From organizing the first billion dollar company to bailing out the federal government, his business management techniques were unprecedented and would be used by future robber barons a century later.
Books discussed: The House of Morgan by Ron Chernow
Before Bernie Madoff was the infamous scoundrel he is today, he was a market maker in over-the-counter stocks and was pivotal in the creation of the NASDAQ stock exchange. Today the NASDAQ is a proxy for technology stocks. In this podcast we explore why that is.
In the early 1920's a southern man attempted to take on Wall St by cornering the market for the stock of a company he created. What ensued was one pf the best lesson you can learn when gambling; the house always wins.