RE:RE:Broken Clock....Or not?Jay....yes these things are certanly something to consider in planning ahead.
The other thing, and again it was something you mentioned in an earlier post, is the distortion of the returns associated with the S&P due to the Magnificent 7. I haven't seen a year end compilation but as of the end of November, the YTD returns of the other 493 stocks in the S&P 500 was around 6%. Even holding cash and buying fixed income in the last few of months of the year would returned a higher amount with much less risk....not exactly an indicator of economic strength..
Responses from organizations that represent independent business in the US, indicate that they are worried about next year due to several factors, not the least of which is the increase in the minimum wage which will go into effect Jan 1 in many states and cities in the US. They cite an expectation that they will be forced to lay people off in response. If that happens then the imbalance between job opening and people looking for work will diminish for sure, an indicator, that I mentioned in the previous post that I follow.