speculative bubble

A rapid escalation in asset prices driven by speculation and herd behaviour rather than fundamental value — followed by a sharp crash when the bubble "bursts" and prices return to reality.

• speculate/ˈspɛkjʊleɪt/(v)投机
• speculator(n)投机者
• speculation(n)投机

• speculative bubble burst
• housing bubble
• dot-com bubble
• tulip bubble
• asset bubble
• bubble and crash

1. 1.The Dutch Tulip Mania of 1637 — when a single tulip bulb sold for more than a house — is history's most famous speculative bubble and a warning that has been ignored in every generation since. (historical bubble)
2. 2.The 2008 US housing bubble was inflated by easy lending, mortgage-backed securities, and the belief that house prices could only go up — a belief that proved catastrophically wrong. (modern bubble)

• asset bubble (rapid price inflation disconnected from fundamentals)
• mania/ˈmeɪniə/— an irrational enthusiasm that drives prices

"speculative" from Latin "speculari" (to observe, to examine) + "bubble" from Middle English "bobel" — the fragile sphere that inevitably pops