Construction of the tallest building

signals forecoming economic

meltdowns?!

Metropolitan Life Tower

• insurance company building

• One Madison Avenue in the borough of viManhattan in New York City

• height: 213 m

• plan announced in 1905, completed in 1909

1907 Bankers' Panic

• a chain reaction followed a failed attempt to ivcorner the market of United Copper ivCompany

• bank’s customers withdrew their deposits viwhile doubting banks’ vitality

• New York Stock Exchange fell close to 50% vifrom its peak the previous year

Bank of Manhattan Trust building

• Bank building

• William Street in Manhattan, New York City

• height: 283 m

• was completed in 1930 after only 11 months of vicuntstruction.

The Chrysler Building

• Chrysler Corporation Office

• Turtle Bay area in Manhattan, New York City

• height: 282 m

• constructed: 1928-1930

Empire State Building

• W&H Properties – owner and manager

• Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street, New York City

• height: 443 m

• constructed: 1929–1931

The Great Depression• Black Thursday - October 24, 1929

• stock prices were constantly rising

• people believed in investing in the Stock viMarket and the marked boomed

• option to buy on margins

• vast numbers of people sold their stocks

• the Stock Market crashed

World Trade Center• Trade center

• New York City’s downtown district

• height: 526 m

• constucted:1966-1970 (1972)

Sears Tower

• Sears, Roebuck & Co – retailer vicompany

• Chicago, Illinois

• height: 527 m

• constructed: 1970-1973

1973 oil crisis

• started in October 1973

• OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military

• 80 % inflation-adjusted collapse of the US stock market’ that followed

The Petronas Twin Towers• Petronas oil company

• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

• height: 451 m

• constructed 1991 - 1998

1997 Asian Financial Crisis

• gripped much of Asia beginning in July 1997

• Thai government cut the fixed exchange rate

to the USD

• financial collapse of the Thai baht followed

• When became clear that East Asian ivgovernments could not guarantee economic ivor financial stability, local and foreign ivinvestors withdrew their financial capital.

Reasons for the phenomenon

• a decline in interest rates at the onset of a boom drives land prices

• a decline in interest rates allows increase in average size of a firm, creating demand for larger office spaces

• low interest rates provide investment to construction technologies that enable developers to break earlier records

• all three factors peak at the end of growth period.

But hey, didn’t they just finishthe tallest building in the worldIn Egypt somewhere?

Thank You