During the 1800s, when the imports are decreasing in China, they made sure that the Europeans will be able to pay them through the use of opium. This greatly helped them in the trade as they used it on other countries in Asia.
Colombia.
Previously, Panama was part of Colombia, which denied the Canal that would cross the country as a commercial route proposed by the United States, because of this, the insurgent population of Panama or "rebels" were the US army to defeat the Colombian nation Satisfactorily, and establish Panamanian independence, which would consequently yield the fruit of the Panama Canal.
I believe the answer is: The flurry of investing artificially raised the price of stocks
The value of stock in speculative investing would be depended on the amount of people who buy the stocks rather than the company's performance in the market. This would give the impression that a price for a stock is higher than it supposed to be and weaken the stability in the stock market.