Boom and bust follow the roller coaster of the interest rate curve. Desperation settles in when short term rates rise above long term rates. This happened at the beginning of the 1980s. Interest rates rose dramatically in 1980, inverting the yield curve, with short term interest rates higher than long term interest rates. This inversion lasted for most of 1980 and 1981, and returned for a fair part of 1982. These were gloomy times for the Eurobond market. By the middle of 1982 the yield curve had righted itself; long term rates rose to higher levels than short term rates and there was a period of activity and optimism. Rising interest rates in 1983, continuing into 1984, were sufficient cause for another depression, in the market. By the middle of 1984 interest rates began to level off and started to ease. Good times returned. Interest rates fell steadily between 1984 and 1987, creating the environment that enabled rapid growth in all the major stock markets and bond markets around the world. The end of that decline, in the latter part of 1987, was the main contributor to the stock market crash of 19 October, and a period of intense pessimism for the Eurobond markets.