Under  the  impetus  of  buying  from  interests  which
had  stayed  out  of  the  market  up  to  this  time  prices  con-
tinued to  climb  steadily  until  May,  when  there  was  a
spectacular  break,  due  to  a  collapse  in  the  Giannini
group  of  bank  stocks,  which  were  speculative  favorites
on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Despite  the  banker's  own  warning
that  the  stock  of  the  largest  bank  in  the  group — Banc-
italy — was  overvalued,  it  had  been  steadily  pushed  up
until  the  stock  toppled  over  by  its  own  weight  and  car-
ried the  rest  of  the  group  along,  with  losses  ranging
from  80  to  200  points.  The  debacle  wiped  out  many
speculators  on  the  coast  and  had  an  immediate  reper-
cussion on  the  New  York  Stock  Exchange  where  a  wild
outburst  of  selling  caused  heavy  losses  and,  incidentally,
resulted  in  the  first  five-million-share  day.  It  was  a  break
of  no  mean  proportions,  but  the  market  quickly  recov-
ered and  prices  headed  up  again  when  the  ticker  brought
the  news  of  Hoover's  nomination  for  the  presidency,
insuring,  as  it  seemed,  a  continuation  of  the  new  eco-
nomic era,  together  with  the  policy  of  credit  inflation


BREAKDOWN  241

which  was  its  life-blood  "Four  more  years  of  prosperity"
was  the  cry  and  it  found  a  ready  echo  in  the  Street.
