Financial Terms Glossary
The most important financial terms - with simple and concise explanations.
Bear market
A bear market is a period of sharp price declines. There is no official threshold at which a price decline is classified as a bear market. But in the financial world, a decline of 20 percent or more is usually considered a bear market. The most severe bear markets occurred during the Global Financial Crisis (2007 - 2009), the dotcom crash (2000 - 2002)and the Great Depression of the 1930s.