Financial markets spend most of their time expanding as more economic value is produced.
I found the meaning of Financial markets and economic value but the structure of the sentence get me all confused, so I can not get the point.
Does it mean: When more economic value is produced, financial markets spend most of their time for expanding. I gess my problem refers to the meaning of "as". I take it as "when" or "while".
Could you please explain it to me? (There is no need to special economic explanations, just general meaning, please)
The fuller text:
Financial markets spend most of their time expanding as more economic value is produced. But eventually, when investments and valuations outrun actual output, when enough money gets caught up in pyramid schemes of diversion rather than innovation, the financial market contracts, washing out all the “weak money,” knocking out the many businesses that were overvalued and not actually adding value to society. Once the washout is complete, economic innovation and growth, now coursecorrected, can continue.
Everything is Fcked: A Book About Hope* by Mark Manson