Summary: This section of the site discusses what are, and how should an investor behave, in both bull and bear markets. Useful information relating to bear markets is not easy to find and we hope to begin your education about this frightening market and point you in the direction of important further reading.
Understanding some of the basic facts about bull and bear market behaviour and charachteristics is sound advice that any newcomer should follow.
Clearly, the movements and underlying economics of each type of market is very different from each other and is discussed in this section of the site.
For many investors, especially relatively new ones(and, it seems, many investment bankers), the current market situation - no matter what it may be - can appear to be the way that stock markets have always been. However, this isn't the case. Over the years - and the US market has been in existence in one form or another for over 100 of them - there have been some violent movements in price and prolonged periods of both prosperity and despair.
It should be noted that in trying to analyse both bull and bear market features, no two have been the same. They almost certainly last for differing periods of time, are caused by different things, require different investment strategies and can create and destroy wealth in different ways.
They also reflect the expansion and boom in economic activity at the time. Since we humans keep inventing new ways to overreach financially on the way up, we will continue to discover new routes down again.
In other words, understanding how either a bull or a bear market might work and move is very important.
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Unfortunately, here at StockExchangeSecrets.com we do not have a crystal ball that will perfectly define or predict coming rises or falls in markets. We wish we did have! Instead, we shall try and provide a brief but useful overview of these important terms and conditions.
It is also worth pointing out that the vast majority of thinking and writing about investment markets focuses on the long side - expansion and prosperity. This probably mirrors the human mind as we are all optimistic about the future.
However, corrections and recessions where prices fall and growth comes to an end are very common. Not only are major setbacks common on Wall Street and elsewhere, but the reverse in prices is often between 30% and 50% from the peak. That is a lot of investor wealth that can be lost when the NYSE and NASDAQ turn direction. On top of this, most major asset classes are not as diversified as we might hope, meaning that when the world's stock exchanges reverse, prices also often fall in emerging markets, bond prices and some commodities.
Therefore, it pays all private investors to know and understand bull and bear markets more than they do, with a special focus on falling prices and a slowing economy.
To read more about bull markets, please visit:
Can You Make Easy Money In The Stock Market?
To read more about bear markets, please visit:
What Should The Correct Bear Market Definition Be?
Discover Some Bear Market Investing Strategies
Secular And Cyclical Bear Markets
The Great Crash 1929 by J.K.Galbraith
What Caused The 2008 Financial Crisis?