My 2013 Corporate Finance class graduate this afternoon. I really enjoyed teaching this class so it will be great to see them do the graduation walk! I am delighted that many of them have done well in the job market. Ligia Mladin is to be congratulated for graduating top of her year group and Liam Trainor is to be congratulated for being the top student in my Corporate Finance class. Both Ligia and Liam received prizes at the School prize-giving ceremony this morning.
My colleague and former PhD student Gareth Campbell has created a website about the British Railway Mania - click here . This episode has been described by the Economist as probably the greatest bubble in human history. Gareth's website provides background on the Mania and posits some explanations for the 'bubble'. In his explanation of why the bubble happened, Gareth places a lot of emphasis on investor myopia regarding future dividends and uncalled capital. His study of investors during the episode does not support the view that this episode was fuelled by naive and irrational investors.