Barry Ritholtz might know something about markets, but he sure as hell doesn't know much about cows. In James Joyner's comments section,he writes:
Bulls have horns which can gore; Bears have teeth and claws. Both can kill. Hence, the graphic imagery depicting the fierce battle between supply and demand, between mighty Bull and ferocious Bear in the jugles of Wall Street..
Horns are not sex characteristics in cattle, they're breed or breed variety characteristics.
Polled Hereford Bull |
Longhorn Cow & Calf |
Bulls (with a handful of exceptions) are generally less dangerous than cows. They eat, have sex and eat. So long as he isn't challenged outright or stuck with a cowboy and a bucking strap to get rid of, a bull will probably leave you alone.
Cows . . . Cows . . . Well, Cows stand around the field, chewing their cud, waiting to be either milked or slaughtered.
Cows have calves, protective maternal instincts and a strong matriarchal pecking order. Herds follow the "lead cow", not a bull. As breeding animals, cows enjoy a longer producing life than the average bull.
Bulls are a relative rarity. Most male cattle are castrated at a few weeks of age and slaughtered by 30 months. And of the lucky few, all but the most valuable purebred bulls move from poking the baloney to being baloney in a fairly short time period. It takes only a couple of years before a commercial herd sire is of little use, unless you have plans to breed him to his daughters. At this point he must be replaced with a new bull.
Hardly a suitable iconagraphy for the stock markets.
Hardly.
So, bulls are basically a Dot.Com stock?
AGH! Hot coffee out nose. Hurts. Dang you!