1970s Oil Woes, Debt Worries

THE STAGFLATION OF THE '70s spooked America. The impact of OPEC's oil embargo proved we were truly living in a global economy. Within the U.S. there were also worries about the massive overhang of debt, public and private. BusinessWeek labeled it "The Debt Economy" -- and was already warning about a bias against saving.

A takeover binge changed the structure of Corporate America just as the trend toward conglomerates had done in the 1960s. And many managers had to start worrying about a cleaner environment.

The TV networks were shrugging off new competition (including cable), and as "information processing" became a buzzword that would revolutionize the workplace, the banking industry unveiled something called an ATM.