The library
414 articles across Financial Literacy and Economic Intelligence — shuffled fresh each visit.
What Is a Bull Market?
A market where stock prices rise 20%+ from recent lows, characterized by optimism and buying pressure.
- Bull market is when stock index prices rise 20%+ from recent lows, characterized by optimism
- Bull markets last longer than bear markets on average (3-7 years) and produce most of stock market's returns
- The longest bull market was 2009-2020 (11 years), returning 400%+
What Is a Bear Market?
A market where stock prices fall 20%+ from recent highs, characterized by pessimism and selling pressure.
How Markets Find Their Price: Solving for Equilibrium
Where supply meets demand: step-by-step equilibrium math, a surplus/shortage table, and comparative statics showing exactly how curve shifts move price and…
What Is an IPO?
Initial Public Offering—when a private company becomes public by selling shares to the public. The first day of trading.
What Is a Bond?
A loan you give to a company or government, paying interest. Bonds are lower-risk, lower-return investments than stocks.
What Is the S&P 500?
An index of the 500 largest U.S. companies, used as a benchmark for the overall U.S. stock market.
What Is a Treasury Bond?
Debt issued by the U.S. government, backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. The safest bond investment.
What Is P/E Ratio?
Price-to-Earnings Ratio—the price of a stock divided by annual earnings per share. A key valuation metric.
What Is Short Selling?
Selling shares you don't own with the goal of buying them back at a lower price. Betting on stock prices falling.
What Is Market Capitalization?
The total value of a company's outstanding shares. Used to categorize companies by size and compare valuations.
How Prices Carry Information: The Coordination System No One Designed
Prices do more than report costs — they aggregate dispersed knowledge and coordinate millions of strangers without a central director.