Team Timeline

In 1956 many people held white collar jobs like corporate managers, teachers, salespersons and office employees.

The annual GDP growth dropped from 3.1% in the third quarter to 0.4% in the fourth quarter in 1957. The growth would decline further which reached -2.9% which affected the country’s unemployment rate.

In 1958 there was an economic depression which was known as the Recession of 1958. There was a sharp worldwide economic downturn in 1958 which caused many businesses to shut down.

In 1959 credit cards with revolving credit lines were introduced.

In the 1960’s the real GDP growth averaged 5% with a growth as high as 8.5%. Payrolls in the US increased by 32%.

In 1961 the FDIC's insurance fund has a balance of more than $2 billion.

April 10 United States Steel announces a 3.5 percent price hike. Other major steel companies do the same, and President Kennedy denounces the action. September 15 To stimulate projects in economically depressed regions, President Kennedy signs into law a $900 million public works bill. October 4 To increase overseas trade through tariff reductions the U.S. Congress passes the Trade Expansion Act.

January 26 A nearly month-long longshoremen's strike ends. The shipping industry loses more than $800 million.

February 26 The Tax Reduction Act lowers personal and corporate income tax rates.

December 5 In order to control inflation, the Federal Reserve Board raises the discount rate from 4 to 4.5 percent, the highest rate in 45 years.

September 9 President Lyndon Johnson signs into law the Traffic Safety Act, establishing safety standards for automobiles.

January 15 The Supreme Court approves a New York Central and Pennsylvania railroads merger, creating the country's largest railroad. June 13 The New York Stock Exchange sets a record with 2.35 million shares exchanged in one day.

The FDIC deposit insurance limit increases from $15,000 to $20,000.
ATMs are installed in New York's Chemical Bank; the installation marks the first use of magnetically encoded plastic.
Wall Street processes about 20 million shares a day, with difficulty. Today, Wall Street processes several billion shares per day.

The recession marked the end of the post-World War II economic boom, and the United States experienced a lasting period of stagflation—a combination of high unemployment and inflation

President Richard Nixon announces his "New Economic Policy" in an attempt to revive the economy and control inflation. This policy is a major shift from traditional economic policies. President Nixon devalues the dollar and ends the gold convertibility of the dollar.
President Nixon imposed wage and price controls. He presents Congress with legislation to repeal tax on cars, to provide tax credits for business investments, and to reduce individual income tax.

Inflation increases when President Richard Nixon lifts wage-and-price controls.

This recession arked the longest economic slump since the Great Depression and was caused by a perfect storm of bad economic news.The oil embargo of 1973,gas prices soared and Americans cut spending elsewhere.

The oil embargo triggers the 1974-1975 world recession, which exacerbates the less-developed countries' debt burden.The FDIC deposit insurance limit increases from $20,000 to $40,000 because of inflation.

New York City is on the verge of bankruptcy and asks the federal government for a bailout. President Gerald R. Ford originally refuses, but he changes his mind after the city raises city taxes and cuts programs. The city obtains $2.3 billion in short-term loans from the government.
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 (HMDA)

First National City Bank changes its name to Citibank. Several banks license VISA

Jimmy Carter was President till 1981. He tried to battle economic weakness and unemployment by increasing government spending, established voluntary wage and price guidelines to try and control inflation. Very Unsuccessful. Deregulation improved inflation rates

The Iranian Revolution caused the price of oil to soar. The interest rates on securities surpass the rates that the banks and S&Ls can pay. International Banking Act of 1978. Financial Institutions Regulatory and Interest Rate Control Act of 1978 (Establishes FFIEC, FRB, OCC, FHLBB) requires bank insider transactions. Establishes EF. Provides assessment of civil money penalties against banks and individuals.

Jimmy Carter appointed Paul Volcker to chairman of the FRB. Inflation is over 13%. Volcker tries to control the money supply instead of keeping the interest rates low. Unemployment reaches 11% and the prime rate reaches 21.5%. Volcker is Chairman till 1987

The American economy was suffering through a deep recession. Business bankruptcies rose sharply compared to previous years. Farmers also suffered due to a decline in agricultural exports. Many S&L industries go bankrupt due to the real estate market weakening and the rise in oil prices. 15% of S&L’s are broken. Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980

Regan is president. GDP declines 2%. Mortgage rates reach 21%. Prime rate reaches 21.5% (highest ever), inflation reaches 14%, from 1981 to 1986 farmland prices drop by 30%. Oil prices drop. Between December 1981 and July 1882 U.S. oil rig operations dropped by 40%. Tax Reform Act of 1981- allows S&Ls to act in real estate lending, provide tax incentives, and encourage real estate investment.

The nation endured a deep recession throughout 1982. The major economic problem is external (Iranian revolution) Garn-St Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982- allow S&Ls to have up to 50% of commercial assets, 30% of consumer loans, commercial paper, and corporate debt. Allows S%L to use land and other non-cash assets as capital.

But by 1983, the economy had rebounded and enjoyed a sustained period of growth as the annual inflation rate stayed below 5 percent for the remainder of the 1980s

The U.S. economy steamed into its second year of recovery, with little perceptible reacceleration in inflation. In the first quarter of 1984, gains in employment and production accelerated at near-record rates; new-auto sales rose to their highest levels since 1979; and housing starts reached their highest rates since 1978.

The economy created an average of 175,000 private sector jobs per month, and consumer spending contributed nearly three quarters of the economic growth. ... After falling 15% in 1984, oil prices were essentially unchanged

The U.S. economy, held back by a soaring trade deficit, grew at an anemic 2.5% rate for all of 1986, the poorest performance since the last recession. Inflation fell to its lowest rate in more than 20 years, but output growth also slowed to a well below- average pace.

The stock market crash of 1987 was a steep decline in U.S. stock prices; its repercussions were also observed in other major world stock markets. In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped 22.6 percent in a single trading session, a loss that remains the largest one-day stock market decline in history. At the time, it also marked the sharpest market downturn in the United States since the Great Depression. It took 2 years to recover from the crash

with the nation continuing to enjoy both low inflation and low unemployment. As measured by real U.S. GDP, the economy grew a robust 3.9 percent during 1998,

Team Timeline

1956

1957

1958

1959

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988