Understanding Business Cycles

Free CFA Level I lesson in Economics. 14 min read, ~2,119 words.

Four phases: recovery, expansion, slowdown, contraction. Peak and trough are turning points (single dates), not phases. Credit cycles last 15 to 20 years and amplify business cycles (5 to 10 years) through leverage and asset prices. Inventory-to-sales ratio FALLS in early recovery (sales outpace stock) and RISES near a peak...

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