On this day in markets

3 February

• 16373 February: A tulip sale in Haarlem finds no buyersAt a routine tavern sale in Haarlem, bulbs fail to find buyers at the expected prices. This is the date usually given for the turn of the tulip trade.Tulip mania

5 February

• 20185 February: A record rise in the volatility indexThe VIX index of expected volatility in American shares more than doubles in a day, its largest one-day rise on record. Exchange-traded products built to gain from calm markets lose almost all their value, and one of the largest is closed.Glossary: VIX

7 February

• 19927 February: The Maastricht Treaty is signedThe treaty that creates the European Union and sets out the path to a single currency is signed at Maastricht in the Netherlands.Black Wednesday

8 February

• 19718 February: The Nasdaq begins tradingThe Nasdaq begins operating as the first electronic stock market: quotations for shares traded over the counter are shown on screens instead of being called on a floor.

12 February

• 199912 February: Japan’s zero interest rate policyThe Bank of Japan decides to guide the overnight interest rate as low as possible. It is the start of its zero interest rate policy.The Bank of Japan

15 February

• 197115 February: Decimal DayThe United Kingdom and Ireland change to decimal currency. The pound, until then divided into twenty shillings of twelve pence each, becomes one hundred new pence.

17 February

• 200817 February: Northern Rock is nationalisedThe British government announces that Northern Rock, which had suffered a run by its depositors five months earlier, is to be taken into public ownership.The global financial crisis

19 February

• 202019 February: A record close before the pandemic crashThe S&P 500 closes at a record high. Within five weeks it is about a third lower.The pandemic crash

22 February

• 198722 February: The Louvre AccordFinance ministers of the leading industrial countries, meeting at the Louvre in Paris, agree to try to steady the dollar after the two-year fall that followed the Plaza Accord.

25 February

• 179125 February: The first Bank of the United States is charteredPresident Washington signs the charter of the Bank of the United States, a national bank proposed by Alexander Hamilton, for a term of twenty years.
• 186225 February: The greenbackTo pay for the Civil War, the United States authorises paper money that cannot be exchanged for gold or silver. The notes become known as greenbacks.

26 February

• 199526 February: Barings collapsesBarings, the oldest merchant bank in London, is placed in administration. One trader in Singapore, Nick Leeson, had run up losses on futures larger than the bank’s capital.

27 February

• 200727 February: Shanghai falls, and other markets followShares in Shanghai fall by about 9% in a day, the largest fall there in a decade, and markets around the world fall after them.

28 February

• 202228 February: Russia raises its key rate to 20%Four days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and after the sanctions that followed, the Bank of Russia raises its key rate from 9.5% to 20%. Share trading in Moscow is suspended and stays closed for almost a month.

1 March

• 19471 March: The International Monetary Fund begins operationsThe International Monetary Fund, agreed at Bretton Woods in 1944, begins its financial operations.

3 March

• 20203 March: An unscheduled cut by the Federal ReserveThe Federal Reserve lowers interest rates by half a percentage point at an unscheduled meeting, as the spread of the coronavirus unsettles markets.The pandemic crash

5 March

• 20095 March: The Bank of England begins quantitative easingThe Bank of England lowers Bank Rate to 0.5% and announces that it will buy assets with newly created money.The Bank of England

6 March

• 19336 March: Roosevelt’s bank holidayTwo days after taking office, President Roosevelt closes every bank in the United States by proclamation. The Emergency Banking Act is passed on 9 March, and banks judged sound begin to reopen on 13 March.The Wall Street Crash

8 March

• 18178 March: New York’s brokers adopt a constitutionBrokers in New York adopt a constitution and a name, the New York Stock & Exchange Board, and rent rooms on Wall Street. It is renamed the New York Stock Exchange in 1863.
• 20228 March: The London Metal Exchange suspends nickelAfter the price of nickel more than doubles within hours, briefly passing $100,000 a tonne, the London Metal Exchange suspends trading in the metal and cancels the day’s trades.Primer: how commodities trade

9 March

• 20099 March: The low of the financial crisisThe S&P 500 closes at 676.53, its low, about 57% below its peak of October 2007.The global financial crisis

10 March

• 200010 March: The Nasdaq’s peakThe Nasdaq Composite closes at 5,048.62, the peak of the dot-com bubble. It does not close higher for fifteen years.The dot-com bubble
• 202310 March: Silicon Valley Bank is closedRegulators close Silicon Valley Bank after its depositors try to withdraw tens of billions of dollars in a day. It is the largest failure of a United States bank since 2008.Primer: bonds and interest rates

13 March

• 197913 March: The European Monetary System beginsThe European Monetary System comes into operation. Its exchange rate mechanism holds member currencies within bands around agreed central rates.Black Wednesday

14 March

• 190014 March: The Gold Standard ActThe United States passes the Gold Standard Act, making gold the only standard for redeeming paper money and closing a long political argument over silver.

15 March

• 202015 March: The Federal Reserve cuts to zero on a SundayThe Federal Reserve lowers its target rate to a range of 0% to 0.25% and announces bond purchases. Trading in New York is halted again when it opens the next day.The pandemic crash

16 March

• 200816 March: Bear Stearns is soldJPMorgan Chase agrees to buy the investment bank Bear Stearns, which had run out of funding within days, with financing from the Federal Reserve.The global financial crisis
• 201316 March: Cyprus announces a levy on depositsAs a condition of an international rescue, Cyprus announces a one-off levy on bank deposits, insured ones included. Its banks stay shut for almost two weeks; the plan is changed to spare insured deposits, and controls on moving money are imposed.

17 March

• 196817 March: The London Gold Pool endsCentral bankers meeting in Washington end the Gold Pool, through which they had sold gold to hold the market price at $35 an ounce. Two prices follow: the official one between central banks, and a free one for everyone else.

18 March

• 201118 March: The Group of Seven sells yenA week after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, with the yen at a record high against the dollar, the Group of Seven countries sell yen together. It is their first jointly agreed intervention in currencies since 2000.The Bank of Japan

19 March

• 200119 March: Japan begins quantitative easingThe Bank of Japan changes its target from an interest rate to the quantity of reserves that banks hold with it. The policy becomes known as quantitative easing.Glossary: quantitative easing
• 202319 March: UBS agrees to take over Credit SuisseAfter a weekend of talks arranged by the Swiss authorities, UBS agrees to take over its rival Credit Suisse.The Swiss National Bank
• 202419 March: Japan ends negative interest ratesThe Bank of Japan raises its policy rate for the first time since 2007, ending eight years of negative interest rates.The Bank of Japan

20 March

• 160220 March: The Dutch East India Company is charteredThe Dutch East India Company receives its charter. Its shares, sold to the public and traded in Amsterdam, are the usual starting point for histories of the stock market.

23 March

• 202023 March: The low of the pandemic crashThe S&P 500 closes about 34% below its peak of five weeks earlier. On the same day the Federal Reserve announces that its bond purchases will have no set limit.The pandemic crash

25 March

• 195725 March: The Treaty of RomeSix countries sign the Treaty of Rome, creating the European Economic Community.

27 March

• 198027 March: Silver ThursdayThe price of silver falls steeply when the Hunt brothers, who had built up a very large position in the metal with borrowed money, cannot meet a margin call.Glossary: margin call

30 March

• 198330 March: Crude oil futures begin trading in New YorkThe New York Mercantile Exchange begins trading futures on crude oil, the contract known as West Texas Intermediate.Primer: how commodities trade

1 April

• 19981 April: Japan frees currency dealingJapan’s revised Foreign Exchange Law takes effect, ending the rule that currency dealing had to pass through authorised banks. It is among the first steps of the reforms known as Japan’s Big Bang.

2 April

• 17922 April: The Coinage ActThe United States Congress passes the Coinage Act, which establishes a mint and makes the dollar the country’s unit of money.
• 20092 April: The London summitLeaders of the Group of Twenty, meeting in London, agree measures against the financial crisis, among them a large increase in the resources of the International Monetary Fund.The global financial crisis

4 April

• 20134 April: The Bank of Japan sets out to double the monetary baseUnder a new governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, the Bank of Japan announces that it will double the monetary base within two years in pursuit of an inflation target of 2%.The Bank of Japan

5 April

• 19335 April: Americans are ordered to hand in their goldBy executive order, people in the United States are required to deliver most gold coin, bullion and gold certificates to the Federal Reserve in exchange for other money.

9 April

• 20019 April: American shares are priced in centsThe Nasdaq completes its change to prices in dollars and cents. The New York Stock Exchange had changed in January, so American shares are no longer quoted in fractions of a dollar.Primer: market microstructure

15 April

• 201315 April: Gold’s largest fall in thirty yearsGold falls by about 9% in a day, its largest one-day fall in three decades.Metals markets

19 April

• 199519 April: The dollar falls below 80 yenThe dollar falls below 80 yen for the first time. The low of that day stands until 2011.

20 April

• 202020 April: American crude oil settles below zeroWith storage at the delivery point almost full, the expiring futures contract for West Texas Intermediate settles at −$37.63 a barrel: holders who could not take delivery paid others to take the contracts from them.Primer: how commodities trade

21 April

• 198221 April: Futures on the S&P 500The Chicago Mercantile Exchange begins trading futures on the S&P 500 index.Index markets

23 April

• 201323 April: A false message moves the marketA message sent from a news agency’s hacked social media account falsely reports explosions at the White House. American share indices fall by about 1% within minutes and recover as soon as it is denied.

26 April

• 197326 April: The first listed options exchangeThe Chicago Board Options Exchange opens, the first exchange for standardised, listed options on shares.

27 April

• 201027 April: Greece’s debt is rated below investment gradeStandard & Poor’s lowers its rating of Greek government debt to below investment grade.Primer: bonds and interest rates

1 May

• 19751 May: May Day on Wall StreetFixed commissions on the New York Stock Exchange are abolished by order of the Securities and Exchange Commission. From this day brokers set their own charges, which opens the way to discount brokers.

2 May

• 20102 May: The first rescue of GreeceThe countries of the euro area and the International Monetary Fund agree loans of €110 billion to Greece, on condition of spending cuts and tax rises.

6 May

• 19976 May: The Bank of England is to set interest ratesDays after a general election, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer announces that the Bank of England will be given operational independence to set interest rates.The Bank of England
• 20106 May: The flash crashIn the middle of the afternoon the Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by almost 1,000 points within minutes and recovers most of the fall within the half-hour. Some shares trade at a penny, and thousands of trades are later cancelled.The flash crash

9 May

• 18739 May: The Vienna stock exchange crashesThe Vienna stock exchange crashes. The panic spreads through Europe and, in September, to the United States, and years of depression follow.

10 May

• 183710 May: The Panic of 1837Banks in New York stop redeeming their notes in gold and silver, and banks across the United States follow. A depression of several years begins.

16 May

• 197216 May: The first currency futuresThe International Monetary Market opens at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, trading futures on seven currencies. They are the first financial futures.Forex markets

17 May

• 179217 May: The Buttonwood AgreementTwenty-four brokers sign an agreement under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street, undertaking to deal with one another and to charge a fixed commission. The New York Stock Exchange traces its origin to it.

18 May

• 201218 May: Facebook’s flotationFacebook’s shares begin trading on the Nasdaq after one of the largest flotations in history. A technical fault at the exchange delays the opening and leaves many orders unconfirmed for hours.

21 May

• 199821 May: Indonesia’s president resignsAfter a collapse in the rupiah, steep rises in prices and riots, President Suharto of Indonesia resigns after more than thirty years in office.The Asian financial crisis

22 May

• 201022 May: Two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoinsA programmer in Florida pays 10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas, in what is usually described as the first purchase of goods with bitcoin.
• 201322 May: The taper tantrum beginsThe chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, tells Congress that the bank could begin to slow its bond purchases at one of its coming meetings. Bond yields rise sharply over the following weeks, and money leaves emerging markets.Primer: bonds and interest rates

26 May

• 189626 May: The first Dow Jones Industrial AverageCharles Dow publishes the first Dow Jones Industrial Average: the share prices of twelve companies, added together and divided by twelve.Index markets

27 May

• 193327 May: The Securities ActThe Securities Act becomes law in the United States. Securities offered to the public must be registered, with the facts an investor needs set out in a prospectus.Primer: regulation explained

1 June

• 19981 June: The European Central Bank is establishedThe European Central Bank is established in Frankfurt, seven months before the euro is launched.The European Central Bank

2 June

• 19922 June: Denmark votes against the Maastricht TreatyDanish voters reject the Maastricht Treaty in a referendum. Doubt spreads about monetary union and about the exchange rates of the European mechanism.Black Wednesday

5 June

• 19335 June: Gold clauses are cancelledThe United States Congress declares void the clauses in contracts that require payment in gold.
• 20145 June: The European Central Bank goes below zeroThe European Central Bank lowers its deposit rate to −0.10%. It is the first of the largest central banks to take a policy rate below zero.The European Central Bank

6 June

• 19346 June: The Securities and Exchange Commission is createdThe Securities Exchange Act becomes law in the United States, creating the Securities and Exchange Commission to oversee exchanges, brokers and trading.Primer: regulation explained

12 June

• 201512 June: The peak in ShanghaiThe Shanghai Composite index closes at its peak after more than doubling in a year, with much of the buying done on borrowed money. It falls by about a third over the next four weeks.

16 June

• 193316 June: The Glass–Steagall ActThe Banking Act of 1933 becomes law in the United States. It separates commercial banking from investment banking and creates federal insurance for bank deposits.The Wall Street Crash

17 June

• 193017 June: The Smoot–Hawley tariffPresident Hoover signs the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act, raising duties on thousands of imported goods. Other countries answer with tariffs of their own.
• 199817 June: The United States and Japan buy yenWith the yen at its weakest in eight years, the United States and Japan buy yen together to stop its fall.The Asian financial crisis

20 June

• 194820 June: The Deutsche MarkThe Deutsche Mark replaces the Reichsmark in the western zones of occupied Germany.

23 June

• 197223 June: The pound floatsThe United Kingdom lets the pound float, as a temporary measure. It has floated ever since, apart from two years inside the European exchange rate mechanism.Black Wednesday

24 June

• 201624 June: Sterling falls after the referendumThe result of the United Kingdom’s referendum on membership of the European Union is announced in the early hours. Sterling falls by more than 10% against the dollar at one point, to its lowest since 1985.

26 June

• 197426 June: Bankhaus Herstatt is closedGerman regulators close Bankhaus Herstatt at the end of the German business day. It had received Deutsche Marks from its counterparties in currency trades and had not yet paid the dollars due in New York. The risk that one side of a currency trade is paid and the other is not has been called Herstatt risk ever since.

27 June

• 196727 June: The first cash machineThe first cash machine comes into use, at a branch of Barclays in Enfield, north London.

29 June

• 201529 June: Greek banks closeGreek banks stay shut and limits are placed on withdrawals of cash, after talks with the country’s creditors break down and a referendum is called.

1 July

• 19901 July: German monetary unionThe Deutsche Mark becomes the currency of East Germany, three months before the two German states unite.Black Wednesday

2 July

• 19972 July: Thailand floats the bahtAfter spending much of its reserves in defence of the exchange rate, Thailand lets the baht float, and it falls at once. This is the date usually given for the start of the Asian financial crisis.The Asian financial crisis

3 July

• 18843 July: Charles Dow’s first averageCharles Dow publishes his first average of share prices: eleven companies, nine of them railways.

5 July

• 20155 July: Greece votes noGreek voters reject the terms offered by the country’s creditors. A new programme of loans, on terms no easier, is agreed eight days later.

8 July

• 18898 July: The Wall Street JournalThe first issue of The Wall Street Journal is published in New York.
• 19328 July: The bottom, three years onAfter almost three years of falling prices and waves of bank failures, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at 41.22, about 89% below its peak of September 1929.The Wall Street Crash

10 July

• 183210 July: Jackson’s vetoPresident Jackson vetoes the renewal of the charter of the Second Bank of the United States.

11 July

• 200811 July: Oil’s recordThe price of crude oil reaches its record, above $147 a barrel. By December it is below $40.Energy markets

15 July

• 200815 July: The euro’s highThe euro reaches its highest level against the dollar, a little above $1.60.The European Central Bank

21 July

• 200221 July: WorldCom files for bankruptcyWorldCom files for bankruptcy after disclosing that billions of dollars of expenses had been wrongly recorded. It is the largest filing in United States history until 2008.The dot-com bubble
• 201021 July: The Dodd–Frank ActThe Dodd–Frank Act becomes law in the United States, the largest revision of its financial regulation since the 1930s.Primer: regulation explained

22 July

• 194422 July: The Bretton Woods agreement is signedDelegates of forty-four countries, meeting at Bretton Woods in New Hampshire, sign the agreement that founds the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Currencies are to be fixed against the dollar, and the dollar against gold.

26 July

• 201226 July: “Whatever it takes”The president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, says in London that within its mandate the bank is ready to do “whatever it takes” to preserve the euro. Yields on the bonds of Spain and Italy begin to fall.The European Central Bank

27 July

• 169427 July: The Bank of England is foundedThe Bank of England receives its royal charter. It is founded to lend to the government.The Bank of England

30 July

• 200230 July: The Sarbanes–Oxley ActAfter accounting scandals at several large listed companies, the Sarbanes–Oxley Act becomes law in the United States, tightening the rules on company accounts and their auditors.The dot-com bubble

31 July

• 191431 July: The New York Stock Exchange does not openWith war beginning in Europe, the New York Stock Exchange stays shut. It remains closed for more than four months, the longest closure in its history.

1 August

• 20121 August: Knight Capital’s forty-five minutesA fault in new software at the trading firm Knight Capital sends a flood of unintended orders into the New York market for about forty-five minutes. The firm loses about $440 million and is taken over within months.Primer: algorithmic trading
• 20181 August: European rules for retail CFDsEuropean rules for contracts for difference sold to retail clients take effect: limits on leverage, the closing of positions when margin falls to half the amount required, protection against negative balances and a standard risk warning.Primer: regulation explained

2 August

• 19902 August: Iraq invades KuwaitIraq invades Kuwait. The price of oil rises steeply over the following two months.Energy markets

5 August

• 20115 August: The United States loses a AAA ratingStandard & Poor’s lowers its credit rating of the United States from AAA for the first time.Primer: bonds and interest rates
• 20245 August: Tokyo’s largest fall since 1987The Nikkei 225 falls by more than 12%, its largest one-day fall since 1987, as the yen rises quickly and positions financed in yen are closed. A large part of the fall is recovered the next day.Strategy library: the carry trade

6 August

• 19796 August: Paul Volcker takes officePaul Volcker becomes chairman of the Federal Reserve, with inflation in the United States in double figures.The Federal Reserve

9 August

• 19959 August: Netscape’s first dayShares in Netscape, the maker of an early web browser, end their first day of trading at more than twice the offer price. The day is usually taken as the start of the dot-com boom.The dot-com bubble
• 20079 August: BNP Paribas suspends three fundsThe French bank BNP Paribas suspends three funds, saying that it cannot value the mortgage securities they hold. Lending between banks tightens at once.The global financial crisis

11 August

• 201511 August: China lowers the yuan’s reference rateThe People’s Bank of China lowers the daily reference rate for the yuan by almost 2%, the largest one-day change in two decades.

12 August

• 198212 August: A low, and the start of a long riseThe Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at its low for the period. A rise that lasts, with interruptions, until 2000 begins from here.

14 August

• 199714 August: Indonesia floats the rupiahSix weeks after Thailand, Indonesia stops defending its currency and lets the rupiah float.The Asian financial crisis
• 199814 August: Hong Kong buys its own share marketHong Kong’s monetary authority begins buying shares in the local market, to defeat speculators who were selling both the shares and the currency. It goes on buying for two weeks.The Asian financial crisis

15 August

• 197115 August: Nixon ends the dollar’s link to goldIn a Sunday evening broadcast, President Nixon announces that the United States will no longer exchange dollars held by foreign governments for gold. The system of fixed exchange rates agreed at Bretton Woods does not survive it.Glossary: floating exchange rate

17 August

• 199817 August: Russia defaultsRussia devalues the rouble, stops payment on its domestic government debt and declares a moratorium on payments to foreign creditors.

19 August

• 200419 August: Google’s flotationGoogle’s shares begin trading after a flotation run as an auction, an unusual method intended to open the sale to ordinary investors.

24 August

• 201524 August: A disorderly opening in New YorkAfter further falls in China, the Dow Jones Industrial Average drops by more than 1,000 points within minutes of the opening. More than a thousand trading pauses are triggered in shares and exchange-traded funds, many of which trade far from the value of what they hold.Primer: ETFs and funds

25 August

• 198725 August: The peak before Black MondayThe Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at its peak for 1987, after a strong rise since the start of the year. Eight weeks later it falls by 22.6% in a day.Black Monday

1 September

• 19981 September: Malaysia imposes capital controlsMalaysia announces controls on the movement of capital. The next day the ringgit is fixed at 3.80 to the dollar.The Asian financial crisis

3 September

• 19293 September: The peak of 1929The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at 381.17. It does not close higher for twenty-five years.The Wall Street Crash

6 September

• 20116 September: A floor under the euro in francsThe Swiss National Bank sets a minimum exchange rate of 1.20 francs to the euro and says that it will buy foreign currency without limit to hold it.The Swiss franc move

7 September

• 20087 September: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are taken overThe United States government takes control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two companies that stand behind a large share of American mortgages.The global financial crisis

11 September

• 200111 September: New York’s markets stay shutAfter the attacks in New York and Washington, the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq do not open. They reopen on 17 September, after the longest closure since 1933.

12 September

• 201012 September: Basel III is agreedBanking supervisors from twenty-seven countries agree the outline of Basel III, which requires banks to hold more capital, and capital of better quality.

14 September

• 200714 September: The run on Northern RockThe Bank of England gives emergency support to Northern Rock, and depositors queue outside its branches to withdraw their money.The global financial crisis

15 September

• 200815 September: Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcyLehman Brothers files for bankruptcy, the largest filing in United States history. On the same day Merrill Lynch agrees to be bought by Bank of America.The global financial crisis

16 September

• 199216 September: Black WednesdayThe United Kingdom raises interest rates twice in a day in defence of the pound, then announces in the evening that sterling’s membership of the European exchange rate mechanism is suspended.Black Wednesday
• 200816 September: The rescue of AIGThe Federal Reserve lends $85 billion to the insurer AIG, a day after Lehman Brothers was allowed to fail.The global financial crisis

18 September

• 187318 September: Jay Cooke & Company failsThe banking house of Jay Cooke & Company, heavily committed to railway bonds, fails. The New York Stock Exchange closes for ten days and a long depression follows.
• 194918 September: The pound is devalued to $2.80The United Kingdom devalues the pound from $4.03 to $2.80. Many other countries devalue within days.

19 September

• 200819 September: A ban on short sellingThe Securities and Exchange Commission temporarily bans the short selling of shares in several hundred financial companies. The regulator in the United Kingdom had done the same the day before.Glossary: short selling

21 September

• 193121 September: Britain leaves the gold standardThe United Kingdom suspends the gold standard. The pound, no longer exchangeable for gold at a fixed rate, falls sharply against the dollar.

22 September

• 198522 September: The Plaza AccordFinance ministers and central bankers of five countries, meeting at the Plaza Hotel in New York, agree to bring the dollar down. It falls steeply against the yen and the mark over the next two years.
• 200022 September: Central banks buy eurosThe European Central Bank, with the central banks of the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom and Canada, buys euros to support the currency, which had lost more than a quarter of its value against the dollar since its launch.The European Central Bank
• 202222 September: Japan buys yen for the first time since 1998After the dollar rises above 145 yen, Japan intervenes to support its currency for the first time since 1998.The Bank of Japan

23 September

• 199823 September: The rescue of Long-Term Capital ManagementFourteen banks and brokers, brought together by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, agree to put $3.6 billion into the hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management so that its positions can be wound down in an orderly way.

24 September

• 186924 September: Black Friday in the gold roomAn attempt by Jay Gould and James Fisk to corner the gold market in New York collapses when the Treasury sells gold. The price falls within minutes and many speculators are ruined.

25 September

• 200825 September: Washington Mutual is seizedRegulators seize Washington Mutual, the largest failure of a bank in United States history, and sell its banking business to JPMorgan Chase.The global financial crisis

26 September

• 199926 September: The Washington Agreement on GoldFifteen European central banks announce that they will limit their sales of gold for five years. The price of gold, which had been at a twenty-year low a few weeks earlier, rises sharply.Metals markets

28 September

• 202228 September: The Bank of England buys giltsFive days after a budget of unfunded tax cuts sent the yields on British government bonds sharply higher, the Bank of England announces temporary purchases of long-dated bonds. Pension funds that had used leverage were being forced to sell bonds to meet margin calls, which pushed prices down further.Primer: bonds and interest rates

29 September

• 200829 September: The House rejects the rescue billThe United States House of Representatives votes down the bank rescue bill, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 777 points, then its largest fall in points. A revised bill is passed four days later.The global financial crisis

6 October

• 19796 October: Volcker’s Saturday announcementAfter an unscheduled meeting on a Saturday, the Federal Reserve announces that it will target the quantity of bank reserves and let interest rates move as they may. Rates rise to levels not seen before.The Federal Reserve

7 October

• 20167 October: The sterling flash crashIn early Asian trading the pound falls by several per cent against the dollar within about two minutes, then recovers most of the fall.

8 October

• 19908 October: The pound joins the exchange rate mechanismThe United Kingdom joins the European exchange rate mechanism at a central rate of 2.95 marks to the pound. It leaves less than two years later.Black Wednesday
• 20088 October: Six central banks cut togetherSix central banks, among them the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, lower interest rates at the same moment.The global financial crisis

9 October

• 20029 October: The Nasdaq’s lowThe Nasdaq Composite closes at 1,114.11, about 78% below its peak of March 2000.The dot-com bubble
• 20079 October: The peak before the financial crisisThe S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average close at record highs. Seventeen months later the S&P 500 stands at less than half that level.The global financial crisis

13 October

• 198913 October: The Friday the 13th fallThe Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by almost 7% in the last hour and a half of trading, after the financing for a buy-out of the parent company of United Airlines falls through.

15 October

• 201415 October: The Treasury flash rallyThe yield on the ten-year United States Treasury note falls and recovers by an unusually large amount within about twelve minutes, with no news to explain it.Primer: bonds and interest rates

17 October

• 197317 October: The oil weaponArab oil-producing countries, meeting in Kuwait during the war in the Middle East, announce cuts in production. An embargo on the United States follows within days, and the price of oil roughly quadruples by the new year.Energy markets

19 October

• 198719 October: Black MondayThe Dow Jones Industrial Average closes down 508 points, a fall of 22.6% in one day, the largest one-day percentage fall in its history. Markets in Asia and Europe had fallen before New York opened.Black Monday

20 October

• 198720 October: The Federal Reserve’s one-sentence statementBefore the opening on the day after Black Monday, the Federal Reserve states that it stands ready to supply liquidity to support the economic and financial system.Black Monday

22 October

• 190722 October: The run on the Knickerbocker TrustA run begins on the Knickerbocker Trust Company in New York, which suspends payments the same day. The panic is contained by a group of bankers led by J. P. Morgan, and leads six years later to the creation of the Federal Reserve.The Federal Reserve

23 October

• 199723 October: Hong Kong defends its dollarHong Kong’s share market falls by more than 10% in a day as its link to the United States dollar is defended with very high overnight interest rates.The Asian financial crisis

24 October

• 192924 October: Black ThursdayHeavy selling at the opening in New York, on record volume. Leading bankers meet opposite the Exchange and agree to buy shares in support of the market, and prices recover part of the fall by the close.The Wall Street Crash

26 October

• 200026 October: The euro’s lowThe euro falls to its lowest level against the dollar, below 83 United States cents.The European Central Bank

27 October

• 198627 October: London’s Big BangThe London Stock Exchange abolishes fixed commissions and the separation of brokers from dealers, and trading begins to move from the floor to screens.
• 199727 October: The circuit breakers are used for the first timeThe Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by 554 points, about 7%, as the Asian crisis reaches Wall Street. The trading halts introduced after 1987 are triggered for the first time.Black Monday

28 October

• 192928 October: Black Monday, 1929No support for the market appears, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by nearly 13% in the day.The Wall Street Crash

29 October

• 192929 October: Black TuesdayThe Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by nearly 12% more, on about 16 million shares, a record for volume that stands for almost forty years.The Wall Street Crash

30 October

• 194730 October: The General Agreement on Tariffs and TradeTwenty-three countries sign the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in Geneva. It governs international trade until the World Trade Organization replaces it in 1995.

31 October

• 200831 October: The Bitcoin paperA paper describing a system of electronic cash that needs no bank or other trusted party is sent to a cryptography mailing list under the name Satoshi Nakamoto.Crypto at GIO4X
• 201131 October: MF Global files for bankruptcyThe futures broker MF Global files for bankruptcy after losses on European government bonds. More than a billion dollars of customers’ money is found to be missing from accounts that should have been kept separate; customers are repaid in full some years later.Primer: how to choose a broker

1 November

• 19931 November: The European Union comes into beingThe Maastricht Treaty comes into force, and the European Union comes into being.

3 November

• 20103 November: A second round of bond purchasesThe Federal Reserve announces that it will buy a further $600 billion of Treasury securities, the programme that becomes known as QE2.The Federal Reserve

8 November

• 20168 November: India withdraws its largest banknotesIndia’s prime minister announces in an evening broadcast that the 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, most of the cash in circulation by value, will cease to be legal tender at midnight.

11 November

• 202211 November: FTX files for bankruptcyThe crypto-asset exchange FTX files for bankruptcy, days after its customers tried to withdraw their funds and found that they could not.Crypto at GIO4X

12 November

• 199912 November: Glass–Steagall is repealedThe Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act becomes law in the United States, repealing the separation of commercial banking from investment banking that was made in 1933.

13 November

• 192913 November: The low of 1929The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its low for the year, close to half its level of early September. A partial recovery follows into the spring of 1930.The Wall Street Crash

15 November

• 186715 November: The stock tickerThe first stock ticker, a telegraph printer invented by Edward Calahan, goes into service in New York. Prices from the exchange floor can now be read across the city within minutes.
• 192315 November: The RentenmarkGermany introduces the Rentenmark, exchanged at one for a trillion of the old paper marks, and the hyperinflation ends.

16 November

• 191416 November: The Federal Reserve Banks openThe twelve Federal Reserve Banks open for business, eleven months after the Federal Reserve Act was signed.The Federal Reserve

17 November

• 186917 November: The Suez Canal opensThe Suez Canal opens, shortening the sea route between Europe and Asia by thousands of miles.

18 November

• 196718 November: The pound is devalued to $2.40The United Kingdom devalues the pound from $2.80 to $2.40, after three years spent defending the old rate. It is the last devaluation of the pound under fixed exchange rates.
• 200418 November: A gold fund on the stock exchangeThe first exchange-traded fund in the United States backed by gold bullion begins trading in New York.Primer: ETFs and funds

21 November

• 199721 November: South Korea turns to the International Monetary FundSouth Korea announces that it will ask the International Monetary Fund for help. Agreement on a programme is reached in early December.The Asian financial crisis

23 November

• 195423 November: Back above 1929The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above its peak of September 1929 for the first time, twenty-five years on.The Wall Street Crash

24 November

• 199724 November: Yamaichi Securities closesYamaichi Securities, one of the four large Japanese brokerage houses, announces that it will close after hidden losses come to light.

25 November

• 200825 November: Quantitative easing begins in the United StatesThe Federal Reserve announces that it will buy up to $600 billion of mortgage-backed securities and the debt of the housing agencies, the start of what becomes known as quantitative easing.Glossary: quantitative easing

1 December

• 20011 December: Argentina limits withdrawalsArgentina limits withdrawals of cash from bank accounts, to stop a run on its banks. Within weeks the government falls, the country defaults on its debt and the peso’s one-to-one link to the dollar is abandoned.

2 December

• 20012 December: Enron files for bankruptcyEnron files for bankruptcy, then the largest filing in United States history, after its accounts are shown to have hidden debts and overstated profits.The dot-com bubble

5 December

• 19965 December: “Irrational exuberance”In an evening speech the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, asks how one can know when “irrational exuberance” has unduly raised the value of assets. Share markets around the world fall the next morning.The dot-com bubble

10 December

• 201710 December: Bitcoin futures begin tradingFutures on bitcoin begin trading on a regulated United States exchange for the first time, in Chicago. Bitcoin reaches its peak for that cycle a week later.Crypto at GIO4X

11 December

• 200111 December: China joins the World Trade OrganizationChina becomes a member of the World Trade Organization, after fifteen years of negotiation.
• 200811 December: Bernard Madoff is arrestedBernard Madoff is arrested and charged with running what proves to be the largest Ponzi scheme on record.Scam school: the Ponzi scheme

12 December

• 191412 December: The New York Stock Exchange reopensThe New York Stock Exchange reopens for trading in shares, with restrictions, after closing at the start of the war in Europe.

16 December

• 200816 December: The Federal Reserve reaches zeroThe Federal Reserve lowers its target for the federal funds rate to a range of 0% to 0.25%. It stays there for seven years: the next change, a rise, comes on 16 December 2015.The Federal Reserve
• 201416 December: Russia raises its key rate to 17%In the middle of the night the Bank of Russia raises its key rate from 10.5% to 17% to stop the fall of the rouble, which loses more ground during the day all the same.

18 December

• 197118 December: The Smithsonian AgreementThe Group of Ten countries, meeting at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, agree new fixed exchange rates and a devaluation of the dollar against gold. The arrangement lasts fifteen months.
• 201418 December: A negative rate in SwitzerlandThe Swiss National Bank announces an interest rate of −0.25% on deposits that banks hold with it, to discourage money from moving into francs. Four weeks later it gives up the franc’s floor.The Swiss franc move

20 December

• 199420 December: Mexico devalues the pesoMexico widens the band in which the peso trades, in effect devaluing it, and two days later lets it float. The peso loses about half its value and an international rescue follows.

23 December

• 191323 December: The Federal Reserve ActPresident Wilson signs the Federal Reserve Act, creating the central bank of the United States.The Federal Reserve

27 December

• 194527 December: The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank come into existenceThe Articles of Agreement drawn up at Bretton Woods come into force, and the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank come into existence.

29 December

• 198929 December: The Nikkei’s peakOn the last trading day of the 1980s the Nikkei 225 closes at 38,915.87. It does not close higher for more than thirty-four years.

31 December

• 160031 December: The East India Company is charteredQueen Elizabeth I grants a royal charter to the East India Company.
• 197431 December: Americans may own gold againAmericans are again allowed to own gold bullion, for the first time since 1933.