Latest news with #TulipMania
Entrepreneur
19-06-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Building Resilient Economies
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur United Kingdom, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Tulips are common in any typical flower shop today, indeed the second most available only behind roses across most of Europe. However, few today are aware that 400 years ago Europeans experienced an intense fascination with tulips, driven by their rarity, vibrant colors, and exotic origins. Tulips became highly sought-after status symbols. Their bulbs were traded for exorbitant sums, sometimes equivalent to the price of a house. This speculative frenzy – which economic historians term "Tulip Mania," – led to Tulip prices soaring far beyond their intrinsic value. Humans, after all, have a tendency to inflate the worth of beauty and novelty. When the bubble inevitably burst in February 1637, it wiped out fortunes, triggered widespread panic, and left a trail of economic devastation across the Netherlands and beyond. Barely a century later as stock markets were emerging, the South Sea Bubble of 1720 – involving the South Sea Company in Britain and John Law's Mississippi Company in France – saw stock prices of these and other similar companies rising astronomically and then collapsing. This was the first truly global financial crisis as it devastated fortunes across Europe and ensnared every social class, from regular commoners to brilliant intellectuals like Sir Isaac Newton. Britain's quick response to this crisis was the Bubble Act of 1720 – designed to regulate speculative joint-stock companies and usher a new era of regulatory oversight – led to faster recovery. Meanwhile, France's delayed reaction prolonged the crisis. The pattern – where crises bring about necessary reform – is replete through history, with each upheaval laying the groundwork for more reforms. From the Panic of 1873 to the Great Depression that was ignited in 1929, every major crisis has, in its wake, catalyzed significant reforms – be it the creation of central banks, securities regulators, deposit insurance schemes, or international regulatory frameworks – all aimed at stabilising macroeconomic conditions, building market resilience, and fostering economic growth. In the 1990s when the Thai Baht collapsed following speculative attacks and unsustainable external debt levels, the crisis spread rapidly across the region. Countries like Indonesia, South Korea, and Malaysia, which had attracted significant foreign capital since the prior decade, found their currencies plummeting and their financial systems – and economies – on the brink of collapse. The so-called Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-1998 exposed weaknesses in regulation, a lack of transparency, and excessive reliance on foreign currency borrowing. Companies with large foreign currency debts faced bankruptcy as their local currency revenues became insufficient to service their obligations. Widespread economic contraction ensued, leading to rising unemployment and even social unrest. Thankfully, the crisis also spurred profound reforms as affected nations implemented structural reforms to strengthen market supervision, improve corporate governance practices, increase transparency, and reestablish macroeconomic stability. While painful in the short term, these reforms helped build more resilient financial systems and diversified economies, leading to a stronger, more sustainable growth trajectory in the long run for many of these Asian tigers. South Korea, for example, used the opportunity to enhance financial transparency, deleverage, and liberalize its capital markets – moves that laid the foundation for their current economic resilience. The more recent financial crises, particularly the 2008 meltdown and the financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, have reinforced these lessons on a global scale. The 2008 crisis, originating from the subprime mortgage market in the United States, quickly morphed into a global contagion, severely impairing financial institutions and real economies worldwide. Developing and emerging economies, even those initially thought to be seemingly insulated, soon felt the tremors through reduced trade, plummeting commodity prices, and a sharp decline in capital inflows and remittances. The crisis laid bare the interconnectedness of the global financial system and the need for coordinated international responses. The reforms that followed were unprecedented in scope. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in the U.S. and other similar national responses, along with Basel III accords and IOSCO task forces internationally, aimed to increase capital requirements for financial institutions, improve risk management, and regulate derivatives and OTC markets more effectively. While challenges remain, these reforms have undoubtedly strengthened the global financial system, making it more resistant to severe shocks. This resilience and lessons learned were shortly tested during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020. The pandemic triggered massive consequences including lockdowns, supply chain disruptions, a collapse in demand, and a sharp global recession. Developing and emerging economies, often with weaker health systems and limited fiscal space, faced particularly acute challenges. However, the policy responses – ranging from massive fiscal stimulus packages to monetary easing and debt relief initiatives – were swifter and more coordinated than in previous crises. These interventions, while costly, helped cushion the blow and prevent a deeper, more prolonged global depression. In the Global South, these crises and subsequent reforms have often underscored the vulnerability of economies reliant on commodity exports and external financing. However, they should also serve to accelerate efforts towards building more diversified economies and strengthening domestic financial systems. Strong financial systems are associated with higher income levels, more robust responses to shocks, and faster recovery times. Through the work of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, we know that inclusive financial systems are crucial for reducing poverty and inequality, as they enable households and firms to smooth consumption and invest in productivity. Additionally, Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff, in their seminal work 'This Time Is Different: A panoramic View of Eight Centuries of Financial Folly,' underscore the importance of robust financial regulation and prudent macroeconomic policies in mitigating the frequency and severity of crises. More recent studies, often drawing on the experiences of the 2008 global financial crisis, further emphasise the role of a strong, effectively regulated financial ecosystem with adequate capital buffers in absorbing shocks and preventing contagion. But resilient financial systems support not just stability, but also long-term growth, wealth creation, and inclusion – the ultimate enablers of transformative change. Just as they were crucial in financing the factories, railways, and innovations of the Industrial Revolution, they are equally vital in facilitating the transition in the current Fourth Industrial Revolution. This age of artificial intelligence, blockchain, meme coins, and green technologies needs a resilient and dynamic financial system even more. A system that will not only provide the necessary capital and risk-sharing mechanisms but also the basis for resilient recovery when crises inevitably occur. The lesson is clear. Resilient economies are built on resilient financial systems. And resilient financial systems are not accidents – they must be thoughtfully designed, regulated, and continuously reformed.
BBC News
07-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Headlines: Knitted tributes and tulip displays
Headlines: Knitted tributes and tulip displays 8 minutes ago Share Save Share Save Dyrham Park/ Helen R The annual 'Tulip Mania' event takes place at a historic country estate Here's our daily pick of stories from across local websites in the West of England, and interesting content from social media. Our pick of local website stories Bristol Rovers have confirmed the return of Darrell Clarke as their new manager until 2028, six-and-a-half years on from his departure, reported Bristol Live. Wiltshire 999s told the story of how a Calne man kept an 'incredibly malnourished' dog in his faeces-ridden home. He was found to have failed to provide Rusty with food, water or veterinary care. A community is mourning the loss of two beloved geese, George and Mildred, who were killed in a car accident, reported Gloucestershire Live. More than £3,000 has been raised to cover the cost of their cremation and a memorial. Our top three from yesterday What to watch on social media A knitted post-box topper made by the local Women's Institute has appeared in Bradford-on-Avon in celebration of VE Day and the women involved in the war effort. A community share box in Frome has been set alight, scorching the inside of the wooden box. Members of the public offered to make repairs but it was deemed "too far gone" to save. An old phone box in Coleford, which has been transformed into a seed exchange hub for plants, fruits and vegetables, is almost ready for operation. More than 60 staff and volunteers put on a magnificent display of tulips at Dyrham Park. The extensive project began in November, when 20,000 bulbs were planted.
BBC News
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
'Tulip mania' takes over National Trust's Dyrham Park
A two week-long event celebrating a spring flower is taking place at a historic National Trust's Dyrham Park near Bath, Somerset, has launched its annual "Tulip Mania", which sees more than 20,000 bulbs bloom at the site. Susie Meader, the trust's operations and experience manager, said the event is related to Dyrham's 17th Century founder William Blathwayt, who grew up in the Netherlands where the plant is the festival, running until 5 May, there will be guided walks, plant fairs, and artists will be creating tulip-related works. Amongst this year's flowers is a special plant created especially for the estate, called Tulipa Dyrham addition to the floral displays, the house is highlighting its historic links to the Netherlands with several ceramic items connected to the 17th Century tulip craze. Piers Horry, the park's garden and outdoor manager, said people during that time paid huge sums for individual examples of the flower. "People were putting bulbs in the ground with the hope that they might get a rare or unique pattern. People were investing ridiculous sums of money into individual bulbs just so they could have that unique, absolutely rare tulip."The situation was completely unsustainable. It only lasted about three years. "In fact the whole tulip market collapsed in February 1637 which means people never even saw the tulips come out that they'd invested their entire life savings into," he added.
Boston Globe
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Spring blooms create a bountiful field of color in Wellesley
Bella Phan, 7, from Newton, and Olivia Tiernan, 4, from Milford, Conn., played on a giant Adirondack chair. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff There are 33 varieties of tulips, which visitors are allowed to cut as part of the admission fee. Connolly said that 75,000 people attended last year with proceeds going toward supporting the society's nonprofit horticultural programs. The event will run until May 4, depending on the weather and tulip bloom. Advertisement A Killdeer kept its eyes on its nest on the ground between tulips. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff Bub Hunt, 6, from Needham, cut tulips at Tulip Mania at The Garden at Elm Bank. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff Olivia Tiernan, 4, from Milford, Conn., ran with some of the tulips she just cut. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff Visitors walked among the flowering bulbs at Massachusetts Horticultural Society's third annual Tulip Mania on Wednesday, the first day it opened. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff Aida Guarnaccia, 3, from Somerville, held a bouquet of tulips. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff
