Kent

Kent


 * **Noun** || **1.** || [[image:http://img.tfd.com/wn/D1/6C0C4-installment-buying.jpg width="121" height="128" align="right" caption="installment buying - a system for paying for goods by installments"]] ||
 * installment buying** - a system for paying for goods by installments

The American economy boomed throughout most of the 1920s. For the first time, American families — no matter what their status — were buying electric washing machines, refrigerators, gas stoves, and car on credit. But even as installment buying was **fueling** the growth of industries such as appliances and automotive, it was also putting consumers further and further into debt. When the stock market crashed on October 29, 1929, the good times came to a screeching halt, triggering the start of the Great Depression. The automotive industry dominated the decade. By 1929, more than one half of all American families had cars, and one out of every eight workers was employed in an automotive-related job. The industry even changed how Americans worked, when, in 1926, Henry Ford introduced the five-day work week. Of course, Ford's move was not totally **unfounded**. His opinion was that the more time people had off, the more money they would spend. .

But they really did not spend there money. Most of the time they bought on credit .. Most the credit was aseptically used in the stock market. As more people invested in the stock market, stock prices began to rise. This was first noticeable in 1925. Stock prices then went **up and down** throughout 1925 and 1926, followed by a strong upward trend in 1927. The strong bull market (when prices are rising in the stock market) enticed even more people to invest. And by 1928, a stock market boom had begun.

The stock market boom changed the way investors viewed the stock market. No longer was the stock market for long-term investment. Rather, in 1928, the stock market had become a place where everyday people truly believed that they could become rich. Interest in the stock market reached a fevered pitch. Stocks had become the talk of every town. Discussions about stocks could be heard everywhere, from parties to barber shops. As newspapers reported stories of ordinary people - like chauffeurs, maids, and teachers - making millions off the stock market, the fervor to buy stocks grew exponentially.

Although an rising number of people wanted to buy stocks, not everyone had the money to do so.

When someone did not have the money to pay the full price of stocks, they could buy stocks "on margin." Buying stocks on margin means that the buyer would put down some of his own money, but the rest he would borrow from a broker. In the 1920s, the buyer only had to put down 10 to 20 percent of his own money and thus borrowed 80 to 90 percent of the cost of the stock.

Buying on margin could be very risky. If the price of stock fell lower than the loan amount, the broker would likely issue a "margin call," which means that the buyer must come up with the cash to pay back his loan immediately.

In the 1920s, many speculators (people who hoped to make a lot of money on the stock market) bought stocks on margin. Sure in what seemed a never-ending rise in prices, many of these speculators neglected to seriously consider the risk they were taking.



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//__**The invation of Ethiotopia**__// In addition to the well-known campaigns in the western desert during 1940, the Italians opened an additional front in June 1940 from their East African colonies of Ethiopia, Italian Somaliland , and Eritrea. In 1935, the League of Nations was faced with a crucial test. Benito Mussolini, the Fascist leader of Italy, had adopted Adolf Hitler's plans to expand into new territories by acquiring all territories it considered itallian. Mussolini followed this policy when he invaded Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) the African country on the horn of Africa. Mussolini claimed that his policies of expansion were not different from that of other colonial powers in Africa.The aim of invading Ethiopia was to boost Italian national prestige, which was wounded by Ethiopia's defeat of Italian forces at the Battle of Adowa in the nineteenth century (1896), which saved Ethiopia from Italian colonisation. Another reason for the attack was an incident during December 1934, between Italian and Abyssinian troops at the Wal-Wal Oasis on the border between Abyssinian Somaliland, where 200 soldiers lost their lives. Both parties were in a stalemate on the incident, much to the disgust of Mussolini, as he felt Abyssinia should have been held accountable for the incident. This was used as a rationale to invade Abyssinia. Mussolini saw it as an opportunity to provide land for unemployed Italians and and also acquire more raw materials to fight off the effects of the Great Depression. media type="youtube" key="QtxL3idYS6k" height="384" width="512"

Information on sides:
 * < Italy ||< Ethiopia ||
 * ~ Strengths ||
 * Approx. 500,000 combatants Approx. 595 aircraft Approx. 795 tanks || Approx. 800,000 combatants Approx. 3 aircraft Approx. 3 tanks ||
 * ~ Casualties and losses ||
 * 10,000 killed (est. May 1936) 44,000 wounded (est. May 1936) 9,555 killed (est. 1936-1940) 144,000 sick and wounded (est. 1936-1940) || Approx. 275,000 combatants killed, 500,000 wounded Approx. ||