bear market, in securities and commodities trading, a declining market. A bear is an investor who expects prices to decline and, on this assumption, sells a borrowed security or commodity in the hope of buying it back later at a lower price, a speculative transaction called selling short.

Morgan Stanley completes aquisition of E*TRADE E*TRADE is the pioneer of online trading for retail investors and now part of Morgan Stanley, a leading global financial services firm renowned for the quality of its wealth management, investment advisory services, research, and market insights.

The trappers would profit from a spread - the difference between the cost and selling prices. These middlemen became known as "bears," short for bearskin jobbers, and the term stuck for describing a downturn in the market.

A bullish market is a time when the demand is higher than the supply of shares and results in the rising of the share prices. A bearish market is a time when the supply is higher than the demand for the shares and results in the fall of the prices of the shares.

about 9.6 months Bear markets tend to be short-lived. The average length of a bear market is 289 days, or about 9.6 months. That's significantly shorter than the average length of a bull market, which is 965 days or 2.6 years. Every 3.5 years: That's the long-term average frequency between bear markets.

A bear market happens when stock prices drop by 20% or more from their recent highs. As a result, investors lose confidence and people start feeling pessimistic about the economy and the stock market.

E-Trade's more than 5.2 million mainstream investing clients and over $360 billion in assets will boost Morgan Stanley's wealth management unit, which tends to cater to more affluent customers.

ETRADE Footer Banking products and services are provided by Morgan Stanley Private Bank, National Association, Member FDIC.

A bear market is defined by a prolonged drop in investment prices - generally, a bear market happens when a broad market index falls by 20% or more from its most recent high. The reverse of a bear market is a bull market, characterized by gains of 20% or more.

One way to capitalize on the rising prices of a bull market is to buy stocks early on and sell them before they reach their peak. In a bear market, where there is more loss potential, investing in equities should be done with great prudence, since you are likely to incur a loss - at least initially.

The causes of a bear market often vary, but in general, a weak or slowing or sluggish economy, bursting market bubbles, pandemics, wars, geopolitical crises, and drastic paradigm shifts in the economy such as shifting to an online economy, are all factors that might cause a bear market.