Buy, Lie, and Sell High: How Investors Lost Out on Enron and the Internet Bubble

Talking Points

We've looked at two companies, one American, one German, that were both part of the dot-com bubble. They are examples of how the system seems to have had a glitch. Instead of investors' financial support providing the basis for the long-term growth of new companies, many ended up bankrupt. Instead of their investments appreciating, many small investors lost large portions of their savings and of their pension assets.

The capital markets serve two purposes: to drive innovation and to support financially successful businesses. The Internet was one means by which money was provided for progress, but much of the money was wasted through this process.

The slow progress of the Internet from its Defense research beginnings to its commercial ...