When we talk about trends in pricing especially as they relate to the stock market, you will hear the term Bull Market or Bear Market. The terms bear and bull are used to describe general actions and attitudes, or sentiment, either of an individual or the market. People generally think that the best time to start a business is at the beginning of a Bull Market and the worst time to start a business is at the beginning of a Bear Market. The problem is that it is hard to predict whether the economy will be better or worse in the future.
Bulls think that good times are coming and stock prices and other prices will go up. Bears think that bad times are coming and stock prices will go down. Here is a picture of the Bear and Bull statues outside of the Frankfort Stock Exchange in Germany.
Here is an easy way to remember which is which. The terms “bear” and “bull” are thought to derive from the way in which each animal attacks its opponents. That is, a bull will thrust its horns up into the air, while a bear will swipe down. These actions were then related metaphorically to the movement of a market: if the trend was up, it was considered a bull market; if the trend was down, it was considered a bear market. Here is a one minute Youtube video explaining the difference between a bear and bull market.
And here is an actual battle between a bull and a bear…
Who do you think is winning? Here is a link to a one minute Youtube video of this classic duel.
Below is a shorter graphic of this battle.
Bear versus Bull… Who will win?.
Do you think our economy will be in a bull or bear market this year?
