It Was Twenty Years Ago Today...

Wall Streeters went to work on Monday, October 19, 1987, in a worried state. The week before had been a brutal one: the Dow suffered three consecutive days of significant losses to end the week off more than 9 percent. Speculation was building that there was still more blood to spill on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Outside of the financial district, the news was mixed. Baby Jessica McClure had been rescued from an abandoned water well in the back yard of her parent's home in Midland, Texas, after being trapped for more than two days; First Lady Nancy Reagan received an excellent prognosis following her mastectomy; the Senate was debating the nomination of Judge Robert Bork to the Supreme Court; and President Ronald Reagan was grappling with how to respond to an Iranian missile attack on a U.S. ship in the Persian Gulf.

In stark contrast to today's headlines, the little bit of space that national newspapers devoted to the 1988 Presidential elections was buried deep inside, as the race hadn't yet gained momentum. And of course, from the moment the opening bell rang at the New York Stock Exchange that October morning, people could scarcely talk about anything except the economy and the fate of their retirement accounts. The market closed the day, known as "Black Monday," down 508 points, or 22.6 percent.

Want to brush up on your 1987 trivia? Then dig out that acid-washed jean jacket and dust off your Bon Jovi album. Here's your chance.

World Series as of 10/19/1987: Minnesota Twins 2, St. Louis Cardinals, 0

#1 Nightly newscast: CBS News with Dan Rather

#1 Song of 1987: The Bangles, Walk Like an Egyptian

#1 Album of 1987: Bon Jovi, Slippery When Wet

1987 Best Picture Academy Award: The Last Emperor

New York Times Best Sellers, Week of Oct. 18, 1987:
Fiction: Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow
Non-fiction: Veil, Bob Woodward

Median Home Price, U.S.: $86,200

Recent New York real estate closings:
Greenwich Village, 6-bedroom townhouse: $948,000
Upper West Side, 2-bedroom condo: $285,000

30-year fixed mortgage rate: 11.58 percent

30-year Treasury yield: 10.17 percent

Trade deficit: $15.7 billion

Federal Debt: $2.3 trillion

Unemployment rate: 6.2 percent

One British pound=US $1.67
One Canadian Dollar=US $0.77

Gold $471.60 per ounce

U.S. Savings rate: 3 percent of net income

Minimum wage: $3.35

Barrel of Crude Oil: $19.80

New York Times front page, Oct. 19, 1987:

• In the Aftermath of Market Plunge, Much Uneasiness
• AIDS is Killing Women Faster, Researchers Say
• Baby Without Brain Kept Alive to Give Heart
• Unesco's Board Votes to Support Spaniard in Post
• A Crack Plague in Queens Brings Violence and Fear
• A Forecast for Israel: More Arabs than Jews
• Reagan Chooses the U.S. Response to Iranian Attack

by Megan Barnett