The Difference Between A Bull & Bear Market (And Where Are We Now)

Wall Street loves to label stuff. When markets are rising it’s a “bull market.” Conversely, falling prices are a “bear market.”

Interestingly, while there are some “rules of thumb” for falling prices such as:
A “correction” is defined as a decline of more than 10% in the market.
A “bear market” is a decline of more than 20%.

There are no such definitions for rising prices.

Simply, rising prices are “bullish.”

It’s all a bit arbitrary and rather pointless.

As investors, it is important to understand what a “bull” or “bear” market actually is.
A “bull market” is when prices are generally rising over an extended period of time.
A “bear market” is when prices are generally falling over an extended period of time.

Here is another extremely important definition for you.

Investing is the process of placing “savings” at “risk” with the expectation of a future return greater than the rate of inflation over a given time frame.

More