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Bear Markets

Bear Market

BEAR MARKETS

Bear Market: (noun) a market characterized by falling prices for securities.

"If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians, so don't rely too heavily on the past. If we do enter a bear market, it may not be anything like other bear markets." -- Warren Buffett

Past Bear Markets Books Articles Websites References

Past Bear Markets:

The term "bear market" refers to a long term decline in security prices. When the term is restricted to those instances where the Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped by 20 percent or more, nine bear markets are seen to have occurred in the United States since World War II.

"Since 1900, there have been only four secular bear market bottoms: in 1921, 1932, 1949 and 1982." -- Authers, John. (2008). Difficulties in identifying breed of bear markets. Financial Times.

"... there have been 14 bear markets since 1950 - an average of one every four years" -- Tora, Brian. (2008). Investment View: Which bear is it this time? Money Marketing.

1973-1974:

  • The bear market was 630 days long and sliced 48.2% off the S&P
  • By the end of 1974, shares had fallen by more than 70% in value

1987:

  • The bear market lasted 101 days with most of the total damage of 22.51% done on Black Monday, Oct. 19th

1990-1991:

  • A recession, coupled with high interest rates to calm the inflation ... and a collapse in house prices, saw shares fall by 21 per cent peak to trough

2000-2003:

  • Following the bursting of the technology bubble-an initial 36.77% drop from March 2000 to September 2001
  • The next decline of January-July 2002 of 31.97% ... it was three long years of false starts and frustration until the recovery really got under way, in March 2003 
2008:
  • Autumn of 2008: Months of trouble in the housing and credit markets spawned what became an absolutely stunning decline in stocks
  • Dow Jones industrial average tumbled nearly 2,400 points, including a sickening 18% drop in a single week

Books on Bear Markets:

The following are selected books on bear markets. For an up-to-date list of related books at Western Libraries, search the library catalogue for the SUBJECTs:

Finance, Personal.
Investment analysis.
Investments.
Investments -- Decision making.
Portfolio management.
Stock exchanges.
Technical analysis (Investment analysis).

Coby, Ron. (2009). Discover the upside of down : investment strategies for volatile times.

Edwards, R. D., & Edwards, R. D. (2007) Technical analysis of stock trends.

Futia, Carl. (2009). The art of contrarian trading : how to profit from crowd behavior in the financial markets.

Howell, M. (2003). Predators and profits: 100+ ways for investors to protect their nest eggs.

Little, K., & NetLibrary, I. (2002). Bear-proof investing. (Online)

Murphy, J. J. (2004). Intermarket analysis: Profiting from global market relationships.

Schiff, Peter D. (2010) The little book of bull moves: how to keep your portfolio up when the market is up, down, or sideways. (Online)

Schultz, H. D. (2002). Bear market investing strategies.

Sheimo, M. D. (1999). Stock market rules: 70 of the most widely held investment axioms explained, examined, and exposed.

Thomsett, Michael C. (2011). Trading with candlesticks: visual tools for improved technical analysis and timing.

Yanis, Ed. (2002). Riding the bull, beating the bear: Market timing for the long-term investor.

Articles on Bear Markets:  

Additional articles may be found by searching ProQuest Basic (try su(Bear Markets)).

Authers, J. (2008, Jul 12). Difficulties in identifying breed of bear markets. Financial Times, pp. 16.

Davis, M. (2009). 2008 finishes as the third-worst stock market year in history. McClatchy - Tribune Business News,

Forsyth, R. W., & Racanelli, V. (2008). The bear's back. Barron's, 88(27), 17.

Grant, J. (2008, Dec 20). Is the medicine worse than the illness? Wall Street Journal, pp. W.1.

INVESTMENT VIEW: Which bear is it this time? (2008). Money Marketing, , 14.

Mecoy, D. (2008). Stock market fluctuations have investors questioning whether the bottom is near. McClatchy - Tribune Business News,

Morris, V. B. (2008). Wall street's animal house. Better Investing, 58(3), 23.

Powell, J., Roa, R., Shi, J., & Xayavong, V. (2007). A test for long-term cyclical clustering of stock market regimes. Australian Journal of Management, 32(2), 205.

Shinkle, K. (2008). Picking through the wreckage. U.S.News & World Report, 145(9), 70.

Swedroe, L. (2008). Learning to love this bear market. Money, 37(10), 75.

Valuable Websites:

References:

Authers, John. (July 12, 2008). Difficulties in identifying breed of bear markets. Financial Times, p. 16.

Davis, Philip. E. (Jan. 2003). Comparing bear markets - 1973 and 2000. National Institute Economic Review, no.183, p. 78.

Forsyth, Randall W. and Vito Racanelli. (July 2008). The Bear's Back. Barron's, 88(27), p. 17.

Hallett, Dan. (Dec. 22, 2008). Taming the unwelcome beast. The Globe and Mail, B.6.

Ratajczak, Donald. (Nov. 2001). Lessons to be Learned from the Latest Bear Market. Journal of Financial Service Professionals.

Shinkle, Kirk. (Oct. 2008). Picking Through the Wreckage: Someday, investors will regard the Crash of 2008 as a bargain bin. But will it be any day soon?. U.S.News & World Report, 145(9), p. 70.

Tora, Brian. (July 2008). Investment View: Which bear is it this time? Money Marketing, p. 14.

Whitford, David. (Dec. 21, 1998) Living With A Bear. Fortune, 138(12).