Term

bubble

A sharp rise in price that rests on the expectation of still more growth rather than on real value. It usually ends in a crash.

The Delusions of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups, William J. Bernstein

Explained in

• The Delusions of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups, William J. Bernstein
• Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World, Michael Lewis

  A state of the market in which prices rise not because a thing is useful but because people expect them to keep rising. It usually ends in a crash.

• A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Burton G. Malkiel

  A market situation in which prices shoot far above what earnings can justify and are held up only by the expectation of further rises.

All terms