A financial magazine for investors, Wild Cat Monthly described its own beginning as a response to the 'many subscribers of The Bulletin, who desired to have the weekly data and comments of that paper's "Wild Cat Column" preserved for them in a handy form'. The original column first appeared in 1892, and the new format was primarily a series of reprints of financial articles and company reviews. These expanded over time to provide greater detail, but the content remained much the same. The magazine's annual index was simply a list of companies, thus providing an accessible source of financial information across the period. Each company had its directors and management identified, its capital and annual profitability revealed, and its financial position succinctly analysed. The stock market and broader economic trends were covered, with 'The Vestibule' column offering economic and financial news and commentary. Business biographies became a regular feature. A not-so-prescient column in October 1927, '1890 -- and Now... A Crash Quite Unlikely', traced the steps towards the Great Depression. In November 1929, the magazine stated its belief that 'Probably Australia will not suffer from the [Wall Street] crash. Indeed, it may be the gainer.' By 1931, when the Depression was firmly entrenched in Australia, the magazine's stance was firmly anti-Lang. It quoted Henry Ford on wages: '"The wages we pay", he says, "are based not on the cost of living but on the value of production". The Monthly has said a hundred times that this must be so.' It was antagonistic to the arbitration system, and carried hoteliers' advertisements opposing prohibition. Its longevity proved its self-estimation as 'a standard investment analysis reference among [its] many rivals in the financial Press'.
