Reply #23: Where does this leave us?

[kcora]

Is it possible to sum up all the good articles that were quoted?

We have a new year, end of Christmas season high, money flowing into IRAs (I think that's just starting though).

Interest rates are ridiculously low - hard on everybody's savings.

Feds are talking about continuing to increase rates, bad for the stock markets.

The dollar is doing poorly. It seems it picked up a little and now is dropping again.

Our national debt is going up with the war and other Bush-related costs.

The talk about social security "reform" - ought to drive up the stock market with early considerations of how much money they expect to be flowing in (and so how much they can chisel out).

Bush also promised to make permanent the tax-free dividends - does that mean more companies will be declaring dividends (like Microsoft did to give old Bill a nice free income check).

Anyone have any interpretation of the combination of these effects?