The Day the Markets Roared: How a 1982 Forecast Sparked a Global Bull Market

by Henry Kaufman, David B. Sicilia Narrated by Mike DelGaudio

Overview

Legendary economist Dr. Henry Kaufman shares a classic Wall Street story that has never been fully told: a firsthand account of the day in August 1982 that would define US economics for decades

Dr. Henry Kaufman is the most famous economist Wall Street has ever seen, renowned well beyond the financial industry. He was the subject of New Yorker cartoons, had cameos in drama productions and two seminal literary works of the 1980s, was subject to death threats, and enjoyed the nickname "Dr. Doom." His pinnacle of influence arrived on August 17, 1982.

That single day turned out to be the beginning of the world that we now live in. At the time, after painful years of high interest rates and the inflation of the late 1960s and 1970s, consumers were paying 17 percent and higher to borrow money. But by the end of one summer day almost 40 years ago, the stock market had undergone its second-biggest rally since WWII, while bond prices soared and interest rates plunged. Dr. Kaufman himself had written a memo that sparked this tremendous boom-and it set the global markets on fire, marking the start of almost four decades of US economic growth.

The Day the Markets Roared answers the questions:

¿ Why did Dr. Kaufman break with his longstanding bearish views to make a momentous prediction that spurred blaring headlines everywhere from Brazil to Beijing?
¿ How could a private individual exercise such profound influence over global financial markets?
¿ How did we get to today's rock-bottom and even negative rates? And what is their continuing impact on the economy, our financial markets and our livelihoods?

The Day the Markets Roared is a firsthand, minute-by-minute account of one remarkable day in financial and economic history, with a rich cast of characters, from Salomon's John Gutfreund to interest rate guru Sydney Homer, to Dr. Kaufman's longtime friend, Fed Chairman Paul Volcker. Dr. Kaufman reflects on the lessons of the historic August 1982 episode, harkening back to a more optimistic moment in American history, and offering inspiration for better times ahead.  

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

05/14/2021

Kaufman (Tectonic Shifts in Financial Markets) was for decades one of the leading economists on Wall Street, but his greatest claim to fame comes from what happened on a single day. In the 1970s, the U.S. economy suffered from high inflation and, unexpected by Keynesian orthodoxy, high unemployment as well. During this period of "stagflation," as it was called, Kaufman built a reputation for pessimistic forecasts on interest rates, to such an extent that a critic called him Dr. Doom. He altered course in a memo written on August 17, 1982, where he predicted that interest rates would fall; the memo sparked a massive rally in the stock market. Kaufman gives us a detailed account of not only what transpired the day he wrote the memo, but also his career as an economist at Salomon Brothers, and the basic principles of his economic outlook. Kaufman writes here that financial stability is essential to the preservation of a free economy, which causes him to look once more with pessimism at the U.S.'s COVID-19 economy. VERDICT Readers interested in economics and finance will find this memoir of compelling interest, and it has the potential for a wide audience with the general public as well.—David Gordon, Ludwig von Mises Inst., Auburn, AL

Product Details

BN ID:	2940175936910
Publisher:	Everand Productions
Publication date:	09/13/2022
Edition description:	Unabridged

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