Selected Quotations
| “ | The British created a civil service job in 1803 calling for a man to stand on the Cliffs of Dover with a spyglass. He was supposed to ring a bell if he saw Napoleon coming. The job was abolished in 1945. | ” |
From Panic on Wall Street by Robert Sobel:
| “ | Good judgement is usually the result of experience and experience frequently is the result of bad judgement. | ” |
From a February 22, 1999 Barron's Magazine article by Robert Sobel:
| “ | Remember the old story about the two traders who kept selling a case of sardines to each other raising the price each time? A sure-fire profit on every trade. Then one decided to sample the contents and found them inedible. 'What did you expect' said his colleague. They were for trading, not eating. | ” |
From The Great Bull Market: Wall Street in the 1920s, by Robert Sobel:
| “ | Wall Street happenings would be followed assiduously by millions who in 1920 cared little about the stock markets. Many who had never before purchased securities would 'take a flyer' on one stock or another. The Ponzi scheme affected less than 50,000 unsophisticated people. Millions were involved - some directly but most indirectly - in the stock market by the end of the decade. Among their number were highly shrewd, knowledgeable speculators who brought years of experience to the market. At first it seemed as though the market rise was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make money with little or no risk. But as stock market prices continued to rise, many began to believe that the rise would be permanent, that the growth curve would be unending. In prospect, this conclusion was reasonable, for the nation was engaged in a great expansion, profits were rising, and conditions seemed sound. In retrospect, we can see the flaws in the argument, the contradictions in the economy which eventually were reflected on Wall Street. The cult of the stock market was, in the end, the greatest fantasy in an age filled with illusion. | ” |
| “ | Take Radio Corporation of America the star of the market in 1928.... When it had nothing but promise, RCA was a $573 stock. Three decades after the promise was realized, it was going for less than half its 1929 high. Think about that trying to assess the prospects for some of today's high flyers . | ” |
Read more about this topic: Robert Sobel
Famous quotes containing the words selected and/or quotations:
“The final flat of the hoe’s approval stamp
Is reserved for the bed of a few selected seed.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“Reading any collection of a man’s quotations is like eating the ingredients that go into a stew instead of cooking them together in the pot. You eat all the carrots, then all the potatoes, then the meat. You won’t go away hungry, but it’s not quite satisfying. Only a biography, or autobiography, gives you the hot meal.”
—Christopher Buckley, U.S. author. A review of three books of quotations from Newt Gingrich. “Newtie’s Greatest Hits,” The New York Times Book Review (March 12, 1995)