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It was a bullish week for economic news – and a mildly bullish week for both stocks and bonds.

My own theory is that in a post-pandemic age where more of us may have looked death in the eye or prematurely lost a friend or loved one, consumers have embraced what economists call a higher “discount rate.”  In this new “live for today for tomorrow we die” view in an old Epicurean bottle, a higher discount rate means consumers will tend to spend more in the present and save less for the future. Collectively, this helps lead to the kind of strong consumer demand we continue to witness despite relatively low consumer confidence by historical standards.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST TO LEARN WHY THIS IS LIKELY UNSUSTAINABLE.