With all the excitement for the IU Hoosiers and the Rose Bowl game on New Year's Day, it made me wonder... what was the financial world like in 1968, the last time the Hoosiers played in Pasadena?
First, a recap of the big game...
- The game was played on Monday, January 1, 1968.
- The Hoosiers - coaching by John Pont - were 9-1 heading into the Rose Bowl, with their only loss to Minnesota.
- The University of Southern California (USC) Trojans were also 9-1 in their season. They were a two-touchdown favorite.
- USC had a tailback named O.J. Simpson, who would be named Player of the Game.
- The Hoosiers ended up losing to USC 14-3
So, what was happening in the financial world in 1968? I stumbled onto a New York Times article from January 1969 that offered some highlights and interesting bits of information:
- INFLATION: The Government took steps to curb inflation by imposing a 10 per cent tax surcharge and a limit on spending. The Federal Reserve Board pushed interest rates, including the banks' prime lending rate, to record highs. Nevertheless, prices went up faster than at any time since the Korean war.
- MERGERS: A trend toward huge corporate mergers developed, with many companies becoming conglomerate organizations. The Federal Trade Commission announced plans for a broad investigation of conglomerate mergers.
- GOLD: A two-price system was established for gold.
- STOCKS: Market volume set records. Stock exchanges decided to cut down on trading hours to help brokerage houses catch up on a huge backlog of office work.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the US National Debt on January 1, 1968 was approximately $349,473,000,000. By comparison, the US National Debt on December 19, 2025 was over $38,381,000,000,000 - nearly 110 times greater than nearly 58 years ago.
Other pieces of financial news from 1968:
- In March, demand for gold was rising, marking concern for a possible change in the dollar price for gold.
- Market volume rose in April as President Lyndon B. Johnson announced he would not run for another term.
- In June, major stock exchanges approved a four-day work week to help with a backlog of paperwork.
It's interesting to see the similarities and differences from so many years ago...