How can the great depression be traced, in part, to american investment in the stock market? a. in an effort to raise funds, companies sold off more shares of their business than they were allowed. b. increasing inflation caused stockholders to sell their shares before they lost any more value. c. uncertainty about the direction of stock values made investors hesitant to continue buying. d. investors borrowed money to buy rising stocks, but could not pay it back once the stock prices fell.