Wall Street- A history from its beginnings to the fall of Enron

In the seven years since the publication of the first edition of Wall Street, America's financial industry has undergone a series of wrenching events that have dramatically changed the nation's economic landscape. The bull market of the 1990's came to a close, ushering in the end of the dot com boom, a record number of mergers occurred, and accounting scandals in companies like Enron and WorldCom shook the financial industry to its core. In this wide-ranging volume, financial historian Charles Geisst provides the first history of Wall Street, explaining how a small, concentrated pocket of lower Manhattan came to have such enormous influence in national and world affairs. In this updated edition, Geisst sums up the recent turbulence that has threatened America's financial industry. He shows how in 1997 thirty NASDAQ market makers paid a record $1.3 billion fine for price irregularities in stocks. He makes sense of the closing of the bull market, and explains a major change in the accounting rules for mergers that caused monumental losses for companies like AOL Time Warner. And he recounts how in the aftermath of the speculative fever that swept Wall Street in the 1990's, the scandals at Enron, Tyco, Worldcom, and Conseco represent a last gasp of mergermania and a fallout from a bubble-like market. Wall Street is at once the story of the street itself, from the days when the wall was merely a defensive barricade built by Peter Stuyvesant, to the modern billion-dollar computer-driven colossus of today. In a broader sense it is an engaging economic history of the United States, the role Wall Street played in making America the most powerful economy in the world, and the many challenges to that role it has faced in recent years.

wall Street Is The Stuff Of Legend And A Source Of Nightmares, A Force So Powerful In American Society—and, Indeed, In World Economics And Culture—that It Has Become An Almost Universal Symbol Of Both The Highest Aspirations Of Commercial Success And The Basest Impulses Of Greed And Deception. How Did Such A Small, Concentrated Pocket Of Lower Manhattan Came To Have Such Enormous Influence In National And World Affairs. In This Wide-ranging Volume, Economic Historian Charles Geisst Answers This Question As He Provides The First History Of Wall Street, Ranging From The Loose Association Of Traders Meeting On New York Sidewalks And Coffee Houses In The Late 18th Century, To The Modern Billion-dollar Computer-driven Colossus Of Today.
Here Is A Fascinating Chronicle Of America's Securities Industry And Of Its Role In Our Nation's Economic Development. Geisst's Narrative Ranges Over Two Centuries, From Just After The Revolutionary War, To The California Gold Rush And The Economic Boom (for The North) Of The Civil War, To The Great Stock Market Crash Of 1929, Right Up To The Recent Junk Bond Frenzy And The Merger Mania Of The 1980s That Culminated In The Fall Of Drexel Burnham. The Book Traces Many Themes—the Move Of Industry And Business Westward In The Early 19th Century, The Rise Of The Great Robber Barons, The Influence Of The Securities Market On Incredible Growth Of Industry, Particularly In The Innovative Financing Of The Railroads And Major Steel Companies And Crucial Investments In Bell's And Edison's Technical Innovations. Geisst Also Looks At The Gradual Increase In Government Involvement In Wall Street, Revealing How Regulation Had Been Minimal At First And Many Investors Had Suffered From The Abuses Of Corrupt Firms. But With The Beginning Of The New Deal, The Government Stepped In To Pass A Series Of Laws—centered On The Securities Exchange Commission—that Severely Restricted The Ways That Wall Street Firms Could Operate. Here Began A Heated Debate That Still Rages Today Between Those Who Want Unfettered License To Operate As They Please And Those Who Want The Government To Regulate The Market To Curb Corruption. Of Course, The Street Has Always Been A Breeding Ground For Characters With Brazen Nerve, And No History Of The Stock Market Would Be Complete Without A Look At The Most Ruthless Wheeler Dealers. Geisst For Instance Details The Manipulations By Which Jay Gould And Associates Cornered The Gold Market, Leading To The Terrifying Market Crash On Black Friday In September 1869. Here Too Are Battles Of Will Between Powerful Personalities And The Determined Rise To Power Of Such Self Made Men As John Jacob Astor, John D. Rockefeller, And Cornelius Commodore Vanderbilt—as Well As The Connivings Of Lesser Known Deal Makers Like William Crapo Billy Durant, Reputed To Have Made $50 Million In Three Months Shortly Before The Stock Market Crash In 1929.
wall Street Is At Once A Chronicle Of The Street Itself, From The Days When The Wall Was Merely A Defensive Barricade Built By Peter Stuyvesant, And In A Broader Sense It Is An Engaging Economic History Of The United States, A Tale Of Profits And Losses, Endlessly Enterprising Spirits, And The Role Wall Street Played In Helping America Become The Most Powerful Economy In The World.

kirkus Reviews

geisst (finance/manhattan Coll.) Attempts A Comprehensive History Of Wall Street. Unfortunately, This Amorphous Subject Poses Problems That Are Not Overcome.

wall Street Is An Umbrella Term For The Financial Community Centered In New York City, Not A Single Endeavor Located At A Specific Address. Given The Role Of Private Investment In A Capitalist Economic System, It Is Also Inextricably Linked To Government Finance, All Sectors Of The Domestic Economy, And Economic Activity Worldwide. This Makes Wall Street Difficult To Define, Let Alone Document Over Time, But Geisst Nevertheless Plunges Forward With A General Survey. The Result Is An Account That Remains On The Surface Yet Will Often Be Inaccessible To Those Without Some Knowledge Of The Market; This Compendium Of Information Lacks Any Framework To Guide The Reader Through Events. To Make Matters Worse, The Broader Political Environment Is Sometimes Misrepresented: How Can One Characterize The Smoot-hawley Tariffs Of The 1930s As The Very Opposite Of Republican [party] Principles When Republicans Had Championed Protective Tariffs For The Preceding 60 Years? The Most Disconcerting Quality Of This Volume, However, Is A Function Of Geisst's Effort To Combine Honest Description With A Prowall Street Perspective. For Example, President Truman's Suspicions That Financiers Had Been Conspiring To Rig The Underwriting Business In Their Own Favor Are Characterized As His Bias Against Wall Street, Despite Geisst's Extensive Accounts Of Financiers Doing Precisely What Truman Suspected. Even Stranger Is The Assertion That The Dismissal Of A Government Case Alleging Collusion On Wall Street Proved That Investment Bankers Are Vital To The Economy; Vital They May Be, But Drawing This Conclusion Here Is Certainly A Non Sequitur.

A History Of Wall Street Educating The General Public About This Important And Often Confusing Institution Is A Worthy Goal—and One Not Yet Achieved.

Here is a fascinating chronicle of America's securities industry and of its role in our nation's economic development. Geisst's narrative ranges over two centuries, from just after the Revolutionary War, to the California Gold Rush and the economic boom (for the North) of the Civil War, to the great stock market crash of 1929, right up to the recent junk bond frenzy and the merger mania of the 1980s that culminated in the fall of Drexel Burnham. The book traces many themes - the move of industry and business westward in the early nineteenth century, the rise of the great Robber Barons, the influence of the securities market on incredible growth of industry, particularly in the innovative financing of the railroads and major steel companies and crucial investments in Bell's and Edison's technical innovations. Geisst also looks at the gradual increase in government involvement in Wall Street, revealing how regulation had been minimal at first and many investors had suffered from the abuses of corrupt firms. But with the beginning of the New Deal, the government stepped in to pass a series of laws - centered on the Securities Exchange Commission - that severely restricted the ways that Wall Street firms could operate. Here began a heated debate that still rages today between those who want unfettered license to operate as they please and those who want the government to regulate the market to curb corruption. Of course, "The Street" has always been a breeding ground for characters with brazen nerve, and no history of the stock market would be complete without a look at the most ruthless wheeler dealers. Geisst for instance details the manipulations by which Jay Gould and associates cornered the gold market, leading to the terrifying market crash on "Black Friday" in September 1869. Here too are battles of will between powerful personalities and the determined rise to power of such "self-made men" as John Jacob Astor, John D. Rockefeller, and Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt - as well as the connivings of lesser known deal makers like William Crapo "Billy" Durant, reputed to have made $50 million in three months shortly before the stock market crash in 1929. Today, more and more organizations are recognizing the opportunities that web technology can offer. They are using internet capability to extend their business processes beyond the traditional boundaries of their companies. By utilizing internet standards, services and applications, organizations are removing manual activity from their business processes, and are directly linking with their customers, suppliers and their partners, wherever they are. The resultant integration of the business community is transforming the structure and the culture of organizations, particularly in non-core areas such as finance. Business Process Integration in a web-enabled environment provides you with a practical briefing and explains what a web-enabled organization looks like and what is required to build and manage the necessary end-to-end processes. Discussing both the technology and the new practices, it offers practical guidance on how to analyze your existing business processes, how to re-engineer them and successful implementation, as well as the role of finance. Essential reading for senior executives, this briefing will give you a thorough understanding of the opportunities and benefits, explaining how web-enabled business processes can transform the way your organization operates. Fully illustrated with leading edge examples from Cisco and Dell, plus original case studies including e-procurement at Unilever and successful ERP implementation at RNLI. The early years, 1790-1840 -- The railroad and Civil War eras, 1840-70 -- The robber barons, 1870-90 -- The age of trusts, 1880-1910 -- The money trust, 1890-1920 -- The booming twenties, 1920-29 -- Wall Street meets the New Deal, 1930-35 -- The struggle continues, 1936-54 -- Bull market, 1954-69 -- Bear market, 1970-81 -- Mergermania, 1982-96 Chronicles two hundred years in the history of Wall Street, from the post-Revolutionary War era to the late twentieth century, emphasizing the events and personalities that have given the market its unique character, and discussing the power it wields in the world's economies