2017 a record year for stocks

[rkunsaw]

Hoping 2018 will be even better.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/12/29/trump-rally-stocks-put-2017-in-record-books.html

 

[Aunt Bea]

I had a very good year and I'm thankful for it!

I'm curious to see how it goes in 2018. I usually have two or three up years and then a down year, 2018 would be the third up year for me or maybe the down year. I'm also curious to see if the new tax plan, the pledge by some companies to increase wages and the increase in many American paychecks due to changes in withholding will kick off a round of inflation to absorb the additional cash. It always seems that when Americans have more money prices rise quickly to absorb it so that any real gains in earning power are wiped out. We'll see!

 

[Don M.]

2017 was a surprisingly good year for investments. Most years...in late Spring, I tend to move from the stock markets into bonds and the money market, and hide out there until the Fall. This year, I stayed put, and the rewards were excellent. The majority of the "experts" seem to think that 2018 will also be a good year, but I will be watching closely for any substantial change in that sentiment. I think some increase in inflation is certainly possible, with this stronger economy...but the Fed will continue to keep the Fed funds rates quite low. After all, with this outrageous National Debt, if the Fed were to allow rates to climb back to levels of 10 years ago, most of the entire Federal budget would be going to pay the Interest on the National Debt. Money in the bank will continue to earn little or nothing in interest for the foreseeable future.

 

[retiredtraveler]

...... I'm also curious to see if the new tax plan, the pledge by some companies to increase wages and the increase in many American paychecks due to changes in withholding will kick off a round of inflation to absorb the additional cash. It always seems that when Americans have more money prices rise quickly to absorb it so that any real gains in earning power are wiped out. We'll see!

Yup. I've been a student of macroeconomics for 40 years (I'm a nerd who likes numbers and stats!) and the one truism about the economy is that there are so many factors at work, and almost all the time, the indicators appear to contradict one another. We never adequately predict what will happen with any change to taxes, government spending, employment, interest rates, etc.
So yes, we'll see........