Longing vs. Buying and Shorting vs. Selling: One Minute Comparison, from Definition to Differences @OneMinuteEconomics

Uploaded December 2019 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago

Is longing and buying the exact same thing?

What about shorting (or short selling, if you will) and selling ?

The answer, as tends to frequently be the case in the world of economics is that... well, it depends.

Some people consider longing/buying on the one hand and shorting/selling on the other interchangeable terms, whereas others have different opinions. For example, many of those "others" believe that longing and shorting have to involve leverage, whereas buying and selling don't.

Who is right?

At the end of the day, it's impossible to provide a clear verdict when comparing longing to buying and shorting to selling. What's important is understanding the various viewpoints out there so as not to be taken by surprise when one analyst says something about longing/shorting, whereas another seems to be on the exact opposite end of the spectrum.

Before ending, please note that two past One Minute Economics have been referenced in this animation, one about leverage:

youtube.com/watch?v=7suzYQOh4VA&t=3s

... and one about short selling:

youtube.com/watch?v=m70RNOa2PNo

Longing vs. Buying and Shorting vs. Selling: One Minute Comparison, from Definition to Differences

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