The first trading day of July has been UP in 16 of the last 19 years (1989-2007), with the first drop being a small (0.16%) loss on July 1, 1993, followed by 100-point losses in 2002 and 2004.       

BEST & WORST Julys

The best July was 1932, after the Dow bottomed at 41 on July 8.  For the month, it was +27%.

The next best Julys were: 1989 (+9.0%), 1980 (+7.8%), 1970 (+7.4%) and 1997 (+7.2%).

The worst Julys weren't so bad: Down 6.2% in 1986, 5.6% in 1974 and 5.4% in 1975.

In Honor of Canada Day: The "first" Canadian & American Coins & Stamps

1847: The first U.S. postage stamps went on sale, a 5-cent Franklin & 10-cent Washington.

1858: The first Canadian coins were minted (1, 5, 10, & 20 cents)

1862: The first U.S. Internal Revenue Law imposed tax on inheritance, tobacco & income. President Lincoln signed a bill to collect 3% tax on incomes ranging from $600 to $10,000, and 5% on incomes over $10,000.  After the war, the income tax was declared un-Constitutional

1867: Canada Day: Upper and Lower Canada and the Maritime Provinces aligned as one.

1869: The U.S. opened a branch mint in Carson City, Nevada, after the silver rush there.

1881: The first "international" telephone call, from Maine to New Brunswick, Canada.

1926: Canada went back on the gold standard.

1963: The 5-digit USPS "Zip Code" (Zone Instant Postal Code) was born.\

1979: Susan B. Anthony was honored on a U.S. dollar coin – which looked like a quarter.

1980: "O Canada" was proclaimed as Canada's national anthem.

Modern International Benchmarks

1944: The Bretton Woods Conference met, to formulate post-World War II monetary policy.

1960: Africa declared "Uhuru" (independence) from colonial powers.  Ghana became a republic, with Kwame Nkrumah as its first president.  British Somaliland & Italian Somaliland were united to form the Somali Republic, as the Uhuru movement spread throughout Africa.

1997: Hong Kong formally reverted back to Chinese rule during ceremonies attended by Chinese and British dignitaries, including Prince Charles of Wales, heir to the British throne. 

Early Calculators

On July 1, 1890, 2,000 Census Bureau clerks began the daunting task of tallying the results of the country's 11th census, aided for the first time by mechanical calculating devices. Some 45,000 census counters had spent the entire month of June counting America's 60 million-plus population, using hole punches to record the results of their surveys by punching out designated spots on the card, like a train conductor punches a ticket.  The cards were counted by a tabulating machine invented by Herman Hollerith, 29, who later founded the Tabulating Machine Company, which became IBM.

And Gottfried Liebniz, who built the first calculating machine in 1673, was born on July 1, 1646.

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