Financial Context

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.

History: Black Friday 1869 - Part 1 09/01/2024

History: Black Friday 1869 - Part 1 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/32691922

History: South Sea Bubble 08/01/2024

History: South Sea Bubble 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/32276387

History: 20th Centry Railroads 07/01/2024

History: 20th Centry Railroads 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/31075433

History: Northern Pacific Railway 06/01/2024

History: Northern Pacific Railway 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/31075313

History: Transcontinental Railroad 05/01/2024

History: Transcontinental Railroad 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/30378393

History: The Erie War 04/01/2024

History: The Erie War 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/30378298

History: The Gold Standard Part 2 03/01/2024

History: The Gold Standard Part 2 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/29329373

History: The Gold Standard Part 1 02/01/2024

History: The Gold Standard Part 1 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/29329303

History: Iranian Revolution Part 2 01/01/2024

History: Iranian Revolution Part 2 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/28758298

History: Iranian Revolution Part 1 12/01/2023

History: Iranian Revolution Part 1 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/28758228

History: French Revolution 11/08/2023

History: French Revolution Nate and Dan keep the revolution streak going this month by retelling one of the most importnat and impactful stories in modern history. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/28559498

History: Russian Revolution 10/02/2023

History: Russian Revolution In this month's episode, Nate & Dan examine one of the most important events of the 20th century through the lense of economics. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/28134542

History: Warren Buffett 09/01/2023

History: Warren Buffett 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/27883998

History: The Panic of 1907 08/01/2023

History: The Panic of 1907 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/27389004

History: The Steam Engine and the First US Monopoly. 07/01/2023

History: The Steam Engine and the First US Monopoly. 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/27013758

History: Alexander Hamilton 06/01/2023

History: Alexander Hamilton 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/26881980

History: The New Deal 05/01/2023

History: The New Deal 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/26250276

History: The Great Depression 04/01/2023

History: The Great Depression 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/26250240

History: Ponzi & Madoff 03/01/2023

History: Ponzi & Madoff 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/25787211

History: The Fall of Standard Oil 02/01/2023

History: The Fall of Standard Oil 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/25277478

History: The Rise of Standard Oil 01/01/2023

History: The Rise of Standard Oil 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/25277322

History: The Birth of the Oil Industry 12/01/2022

History: The Birth of the Oil Industry 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/25085640

History: California Gold Rush 11/01/2022

History: California Gold Rush 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/24796173

History: Mayday 10/01/2022

History: Mayday 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/24434520

History: Chuck Schwab 09/01/2022

History: Chuck Schwab 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/24166284

History: Ivar Kreugar 08/04/2022

History: Ivar Kreugar 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/23958711

History: Origins of Capitalism 07/01/2022

History: Origins of Capitalism 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 /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/23496200

History: Mark Twain & Bad Investments 06/01/2022

History: Mark Twain & Bad Investments 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/23142254

History: The Birth of Financial Ads 05/01/2022

History: The Birth of Financial Ads 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/22703033

History: BankAmericard 04/01/2022

History: BankAmericard 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. /episode/index/show/financialcontext/id/22404719

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