Week of April 13, 2026 – April 19, 2026
On That Day in Markets Three stories. One is true. Can you spot it?
Story A On April 17, 2024, TSMC reported quarterly earnings that beat estimates by 40%, driven by insatiable AI chip demand from Nvidia and Apple. TSMC's stock jumped 8% in Taipei. But the real shock: CEO C.C. Wei warned that global chip capacity was 'structurally insufficient for the next three years' — the statement that kickstarted the second AI capex supercycle. Story B On April 16, 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 13,000 for the first time in its 111-year history. Wall Street celebrated with champagne. Five months later, the index would begin a 54% decline that wouldn't end until March 2009 — the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Story C On April 14, 2021, Coinbase went public via direct listing at a reference price of $250, opening at $381 — a valuation of $86 billion. It was the largest crypto company ever to go public. CEO Brian Armstrong became a paper billionaire, and Coinbase briefly surpassed Goldman Sachs in market cap. Within 18 months, the stock would trade below $35.
Reveal answer Pick the story you think is true.
Verdict
The Dow crossing 13,000 in April 2007 felt like validation — the economy was growing, housing was booming, credit was flowing. Nobody at the celebration knew that Bear Stearns' hedge funds would implode three months later, or that the entire financial system would nearly collapse by late 2008. The Dow's journey from 13,000 to 6,547 remains one of the starkest examples of market hubris in history.