Radio.Technology seems to always go boom and bust. The railroads (we forget that was technology) after the Civil War (Panic of 1873 with an over 30% default rate of bonds); then it was utility companies in the early 1900's (see Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA)), dot com and now AI. When it happens and how it is responded to is another matter. These seem to drag down everything.
In the early 1920s, radio was the "new, new thing". RCA became the largest stock by capitalisation. It eventually owned many of the key patents for television -- it was a technology leader.
That all ended eventually.
Aviation stocks did something similar. There were new planes, large enough to carry passengers - like many technologies, WW1 gave it a huge jump start. Airline stocks were huge.
In the early 1960s it was "electronics". Anything with "Electronic" or "tronic" in the stock name soared.
You usually get some financial innovations as well. The CDOs and CDS in 2008-9 we know. But in the late 1920s you had the Investment Trust (your utility holding companies again). In the 1960s you had the first big mutual funds: Gerry Tsai and ?Primerica? "The Go-Go Years".
Statistics: Posted by Valuethinker — Fri Dec 12, 2025 3:59 am — Replies 27 — Views 2023