Events of 1995 January January 1 - Austria, Finland and Sweden enter the European Union. January 1 - The World Trade Organization is established to replace the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). January 1 - The Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway is detected, confirming the existence of freak waves. January 4 - The 104th Congress, the first controlled by Republicans in both houses since 1953, convenes. January 6â7 - A chemical fire occurs in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines. Policemen led by watch commander Aida Fariscal and investigators find a bomb factory and a laptop computer and disks that contain plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack. The mastermind, Ramzi Yousef, is arrested 1 month later. January 9 - Valeri Polyakov completes 366 days in space while aboard the Mir space station, breaking a duration record. January 16 - An avalanche hits the village SúðavÃk in Iceland, killing 14 people. January 17 - A magnitude 7.3 earthquake called the "Great Hanshin earthquake" occurs near Kobe, Japan, causing great property damage and killing 6,434 people. January 25 - Norwegian rocket incident: A rocket launched from the space exploration centre at Andøya, Norway is briefly interpreted by the Russians as an incoming attack. January 29 - Super Bowl XXIX: The San Francisco 49ers become the first National Football League franchise to win 5 Super Bowls, as they defeat the San Diego Chargers at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida. January 30 - John Howard becomes leader of the Liberal Party of Australia to challenge Paul Keating for the 1996 Federal Election and the position of Prime Minister of Australia. January 31 - U.S. President Bill Clinton invokes emergency powers, to extend a $20 billion loan to help Mexico avert financial collapse.
The budget was never balanced, it just looked that way. Social Security & Medicare/Medicaid were hidden in the footnotes.
LOL. Clinton was always a centrist. The budget got balanced because the gubment was awash in tax revenue from irrational exuberance in the markets. I'd love to believe that the budget balanced because of increased fiscal conservatism, but that's not the case.
I remember it very well because I had some puts at the time. The sentiment was very negative at the time. There were many analysts calling for interest rates to go throught the roof. Interest rates had been rising and stocks in general were slumping for all of 1994. I don't remember the catalyst but I do remember that 30year bond prices rose over a point for 3 days in a row and the market was off to the races. I sold my puts.
================= Remember parts of JAN & 1995; looked back on charts also. Citigroup had lower highs, lower lows in 1995,compared to 1994. XOM [Exxon] had much more peak to valley range in 1995 ,compared to 1994.COP had higher lows, in '95, XOM had higher highs,in '95, both comparisons in 1994-1995. More gasoline dealers/service stations then than now; more wars against us now than then. Not a prediction but strangly similiar.
I doubt if it was anything more complicated than the obvious: with the exception of a dip fueled by the war, the 90's started out nice. 1994 was a consolidation period. Fueled by the effects of the end of the Cold War and the net positive effect of the 1st Iraq war, Jan 1995 began a period of irrational exuberance that ended with the tech bubble. (The government then tried to artificially sustain pre tech bubble levels, creating another bubble that just went sha-blam, but that's another story. ) Why did it start in Jan of '95? Who knows. It could have just as easily started 6 months earlier or 6 months later.