FDR

Chart-side Chats

Chart-side Chats

Last week marked the semi-sesquicentennial anniversary of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s death which sparked many to compare our current financial markets to the Great Depression. As the stock market continues its rapid ascent for a second week and pundits start talking about the shape of the recovery, there is one lesson some overlook from the Depression era — the value of FDR’s fireside chats. During these chats, the president used simple, direct language to convey very difficult news; a format we are keeping in mind.