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The main factors which influence the sharemarket are political events such as wars, assassinations of political figures, and economic decisions by governments to raise or lower interest rates. Even the recent Clinton/Lewinski affair has had a major effect.

I have looked at three separate political events, and their effect on the Sharemarket.

The three main events are JFK's assassination in 1963, the resignation of President Nixon in 1974,and the current Clinton/Lewinski affair.

JFK's Assassination. Friday 22 November 1963.

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There was an immediate panic of selling on the sharemarket, after the reports came through that JFK had been shot. Just minutes after JFK was confirmed dead, the New York stock exchange was closed. This is the first time a political event had caused Wall Street to close. On the Tuesday when Wall street reopened, the Dow Jones rose steadily for up to three weeks, most probably because of LBJ's smooth transition to presidency.

President Nixon's Resignation. Thursday 8 August 1974.

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Nixon's resignation caused severe turmoil on Wall Street. Although the Nixon scandal had already taken most of its toll on the sharemarket before the actual resignation, the Dow Jones continued to decline steadily for three weeks after, dropping by 10%.

(The Financial Fallout of Politics graph taken from, The Age / The Age 30 July 1998 / pg BUSINESS 1.)

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Clinton / Lewinski Affair. July 30,1998.

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The current Clinton / Lewinski affair has had a tremendous effect on Wall Street. Bill Clinton's potential legal problems have added political uncertantity to Wall Street, which fell as much as 212 points on Tuesday night, before recovering to end down 93.46 points, or 1 %, at 8934.78.

(Clinton / Lewinski Graph taken from The Age, 30 July 1998, pg BUSINESS 1)

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(author unknown) / The Financial Fallout of Politics, The Age 30 July 1998 / pg BUSINESS 1.

(author unknown) / Lewinsky gloom strains Wall St. (Los Angeles Times), The Age, 30, July, 1998 / pg BUSINESS 1 + 4.