This indicator hasn’t flashed this red since the dot-com bubble

The “Shiller PE Ratio” is at its highest level since November of 1999. That was at the peak of the online gold rush right before the dot com bubble burst in 2000. Today on the show, we learn what the Shiller PE Ratio is, how it works and whether we should be worried that it’s relatively high right now.


You can find John Campbell's book here: Fixed: Why Personal Finance is Broken and How to Make It Work for Everyone

Related episodes: 
What’s a Bubble?
Zombie 2nd mortgages are coming to life, threatening thousands of Americans' homes

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Tyler Jones. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy