This chapter begins with a discussion of why we would expect to find that the time spent in expansions (bull markets, etc.) would be much greater than the time spent in contractions (bear markets, etc.). By focusing on the probabilities of getting particular outcomes for the binary variables summarizing the recurrent events, we can provide an explanation of this long-observed feature. The remainder of the chapter looks at many proposals for summarizing other features of the recurrent events. These involve well-known quantities such as durations and amplitudes, as well as lesser known ones, such as the sharpness of peaks and troughs.