A contraction is the phase of the business cycle when the economy declines, often with falling real GDP and rising unemployment, moving from peak toward trough (expansion, peak, contraction, trough).

'There'd' and 'they'd' are examples of contractions that are useful to know. Read on to learn more! Contractions involve shortening words and replacing one or more letters with an apostrophe. There ...

Carla Tardi is a technical editor and digital content producer with 25+ years of experience at top-tier investment banks and money-management firms. Photo by Fanatic Studio/Getty Images Economic ...