Black Friday refers to September 24, 1869. On Black Friday, a group of speculators led by James Fist and Jay Gould attempted to corner the gold market. They failed, and the resulting collapse in gold, and then stocks, became known as Black Friday. From this original Black Friday came the practice of labeling market collapses as "Black". In addition to Black Friday, there is Black Thursday of 1929 and Black Monday of 1987. There was also a second Black Friday in 1873.
Black Friday also refers to the Friday after the US Thanksgiving Day holiday. As one of the busiest shopping days of the year, Black Friday is said to turn the retail industry's bottom line from red to black. |
