The Bubble Springs a Leak

The madness continued unabated for several years, until finally cracks began to appear. Companies themselves poked the first holes in this bubble: Many reported huge losses and some folded outright within months of their IPO. In 1999, there were 457 IPOs, most of which were related to Internet and technology. Of those 457 IPOs, 117 doubled in price on the first day of trading.

The mania was apparent in the performance of two major indexes. Figure 9.1 shows how the NASDAQ Composite and Dow rose sharply in this time period.