Rockefeller's Statement
Impact
Dow +25% in following weeks
What happened
John D. Rockefeller told a reporter that sound stocks were cheap and that he personally was buying. The quote ran in the morning papers. That alone was enough to stabilize sentiment across a market where, at the time, the word of one wealthy private citizen could effectively substitute for a central bank's statement.
Context
Rockefeller famously told a reporter the market would recover — the quote in the next morning's paper was enough to stop the bleeding.
Era
01 · Telegraph & Newspaper
Financial news traveled by telegraph wire then printed in morning papers. A London statement took 3 days to reach New York traders. Information was scarce and power concentrated in those who had it first.
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Other events in this era
← Earlier in era
Panic of 1907 — Knickerbocker Trust Bank Run