Capital markets in the present and 1930s

After the collapse of Lehman Bros, 2008, and related financial crisis, there has been much talk of the Wall Street Crisis, 1929, and subsequent economic disruption. In these columns we have argued that it is helpful to look backwards in order the better to understand the present, as in our piece on Cranford [27 October 2010], but this has no relevance to the current world finance situation. Current capital markets are based entirely on confidence whereas in the 1930s the ‘gold standard’ was a direct or indirect influence. We are surprised when commentators make reference to the 1930s because conclusions drawn from comparisons with the 1930s are false.

Contributor: Geoff Williams. Sempringham [ehistory.org.uk] eLearning Office.