It’s Been 40 Years Since Our Cover Story Declared ‘The Death of Equities’
And people never tire of reminding us of the bull market that followed.
We’re still getting grief for a cover story that appeared in BusinessWeek—the ancestor of Bloomberg Businessweek—four decades ago. On Aug. 13, 1979, the headline on the cover was “The Death of Equities: How Inflation Is Destroying the Stock Market.” Three years after that article appeared, the stock market hit bottom and then began a remarkable resurgence. The total return on the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index since its 1982 low, with dividends reinvested, has been nearly 7,000%. Not bad for a corpse.
Our “Death of Equities” cover is so famous among contrarians—investors who bet against the conventional wisdom—that any article anywhere that includes the phrase “death of ...” immediately provokes reminders of our less-than-finest hour. Look at the Wikipedia entry for Magazine Cover Indicator for a taste.