Will it be? Is the sky falling? Did you wait one day too long to cash out? Has the AI bubble burst? Is it the end of the world as we know it?

I guess no one knows for sure. But I certainly hope not as I sure took advantage of this dip today and bought a lot of bullish spreads. I guess time will tell whether or not I am an idiot, LOL.

I think the probability of a prolonged selloff is not zero but I don't think it's world ending time either.
Some people are missing or ignoring the fact that the jobs report indicates a strong and/or strengthening economy. Yeah that could push the Fed to raise rates but so what. An expanding economy should be able to handle higher borrowing costs. It might also address inflation expectations....which would be a good thing.

It is certainly a better outlook than increasing joblessness and a possible recession that would push the Fed to reduce rates.

I also think once we get past the SPCX IPO things may settle down. MAYBE......provided the IPO is successful.
I have some real doubts about that. What would the rest of the market do if the SPCX IPO is a flop ? I think then there would be a good chance of more downside. And I think there is a good chance of it being less than impressive.

Remember what IPO means................."It's probably overpriced".

Locally we're feeling the economy slow down a bit.

The economy just feels weird, there's a small group of people doing really well and they are keeping us busy, these are almost exclusively boomers. Everyone else seems to be struggling.

That is pretty universal in the economy right now I think. Boomers have a lifetime worth of savings and investments compared to the younger cohorts of the population. Also a better work ethic would go a long way to help those younger people. I saw a statistic yesterday that said 24 or 25% of males 20-54 years old do not have a job and do not want a job. The social safety net has become a hammock.

Locally we have 40+ year old construction guys who have never experienced a slow time. You can't convince them how unusual this is. These prices must absolutely suck for people living from paycheck to paycheck.

I'm 36 and I can assure you 2008-2014ish sucked.

I would agree work ethic would help but I'm also seeing people in their 20s,30s,40s working hard and struggling. Housing has gotten out of hand, land is out of hand, things that matter are out of hand, I think it's easy to justify buying a new PlayStation and working less when you feel like you can't get ahead even if your working 60 hours a week. Feel like the American dream of a house and white picket fence is being relegated to the past.

I dunno, I do flooring estimates for a large company and our first quarter sales are well above what was estimated. The vast majority of the customers I work with are in the 30-60 year old age group. I just had my home sided by a local contractor and was lucky to get on the schedule before fall (paid a down payment for the work in Jan.). Was at Menards last weekend and every checkout was 5 people deep. Hardly an economic panic around here.

2008 to 2014 were boom times in my local area. I did fly on a few trans-atlantic flights during that time period that were basically empty so some areas of the world were slow.

You have to remember, donner, that the American Dream often included stepping outside of your comfort zone. If it hadn't, would this country ever have been settled? The 20-40-somethings that are giving up and buying PlayStations could likely have their American Dream if they were brave enough to step outside of urban, liberal MN cities. You know, like the people that left "crowded" states in the east to settle the west? Or the person on this thread that as a 20-something left the liberal west coast to pursue the American dream in the Great White North? People your age tend to want a life handed to them. Sometimes.... ya have to go find the life you want.

There’s been 9 consecutive up weeks

The streak was bound to end

The 3 biggest ipo’s ever are about to happen,,,,

The money is going to come from somewhere

Sorry Donner, we been through this before. The so-called folks that ARE actually working 60 hours weeks and ARE actually broke must be making pee poor life decisions with their money. Theres more to becoming financially successful than just making money...in fact, Id say the discipline in handling money is more important than the amount you make.

No, they're mostly just not very smart. Boomers could work at the factory 40 hours a week and own a house, you didn't have to be smart to put wheels on a car but you'd still get a pension and could afford a house. Now we've imported Mexicans and deported manufacturing and we can't figure out why some people just can't seem to succeed.

Edited to say, I also agree that there's far to many handouts

when I was in my thirties, everyone I knew then was struggling. all of us were near the beginning of our careers, had a mortgage, car loan and very young kids. we didn't make a lot of money. we struggled.

but we persevered, and (in due time) thrived.

that same demographic today seems to think they shouldn't be struggling, that they should already have the assets and peace of mind that come with a lifetime of work and self-sacrifice.

There's a difference between struggling to pay a mortgage and struggling to pay rent. Student loans are a huge factor also, maybe even the biggest factor.

Life's tough for everybody, I'm not making excuses but I still think it's okay to acknowledge that housing and college cost have gotten out of control.

Every time is see the title of the post, I think,,, martin king day.

Building new houses in the Kansas City outskirts. Lots of them. Somebody is buying them. Even at the price being asked. Most before they are finished building them. I think the economy is still ok.. Yes groceries are higher, utilities are higher, property tax is outrageous, gas/diesel is unbelievably high, and insurance keeps going up. Yet those homes are selling. Might all take a tumble. Might not. I got no crystal ball.

Life like trapping depends on a strong work ethic for sucess.
If you want to have a good easy life when you are older you need to work hard when you are young.
Hustling around trying to make money without working for it is a mugs game.

I agree that there are areas in the country where buying a home (or even paying rent) is close to impossible for young folks. But that is NOT the case nationwide. As I said in an earlier post.... if you live in a democrat-controlled area with astronomical housing rates.... relocation may be the only logical choice.

College costs....... it doesn't take too much skill to get a part time job at Lowe's. And once you do, and are there for (I believe) 3 months.......they will pay 100% of the tuition for a four year degree. No, it does not include degrees in basket-weaving, lol, but degrees in business, finance, computers, etc. are all available. Lowe's is NOT the only business that does this.... it is in fact becoming a more and more popular "perk". And then of course there are scholarships. My GPA in my free finance degree was high enough to earn me a scholarship at Ole Miss that covers 75% of the tuition of my Master's degree. People that are getting $100,000 in debt for anything less than medical or law school...... are simply doing it wrong.

Some people make a career out of going to school
Still going to school in their 30s and 40s.
Poor buggers will never catch up financially to the ones who entered the workforce early.