1992: Chambers Development Co., one of the nation's hottest growth stocks, drops from $30.50 to $11.50, or 62%, on news that the landfill company's own accounting may be garbage. The day before, Chambers announced that it would no longer capitalize its development costs — wiping away $48 million in earnings. Just over six months later, Chambers restates its books for 1989, 1990, and 1991, slashing its earnings for those years by $240 million. It's yet another reminder that if you don't question a growth company's accounting before you buy it, you may end up with no growth and a lot of shrinkage.

The Wall Street Journal, March 18, 1992, p. C2;March 19, 1992, pp. B4, C2;April 14, 1992, p. A6

1950: Henry Wells, William G. Fargo, and John Butterfield meet at the Mansion House in Buffalo to join their separate companies — Wells & Co.; Livingston, Fargo & Co.; and Butterfield and Watson — into a single firm with a monopoly over express shipping in the northeast. They capitalize their American Express Co. with $150,000 in stock. At first, AmEx specializes in shipping small valuables like bond certificates, currency, and financial contracts — plus live poultry, pianos, and firecrackers.

Reed Massengill, Becoming American Express: 150 Years of Reinvention and Customer Service (American Express, New York, 1999), pp. 10-17.