Reuters / Andrew Burton
- The unemployment picture on Main Street looks downright rosy, but that could be signaling future market instability or even a stock-market meltdown.
- Jim Paulsen, the chief investment officer at Leuthold Group, notes that sharp stock-market sell-offs are usually met with widespread Wall Street layoffs.
- In an ironic twist of fate, signs of strength on Main Street could be foreshadowing a reckoning on Wall Street.
When the housing bubble burst back in the mid-2000s, plunging the US into a deep recession, many affected workers on Main Street looked scornfully upon their Wall Street counterparts.
While the normal folk lost their jobs and their houses, Wall Streeters got off relatively easy. Sure, maybe some of them lost their jobs as well - but the general feeling was that the big banks set the middle class up to fail and then were let off the hook with mass bailouts.
Well, the middle class may soon have its revenge, albeit in indirect fashion, according to recent commentary from the Minneapolis-based Leuthold Group.
That's because as Main Street workers enjoy their lowest unemployment rate in 18 years, the fact it's so low could be portending a very dangerous period ahead for markets, according to Leuthold's chief investment strategist, Jim Paulsen.
And when the market melts down, Wall Street trims the fat. ...
Sponsored: If you enjoyed reading this story so far, why don't you join Business Insider PRIME? Business Insider provides visitors from MSN with a special offer. Simply click here to claim your deal and get access to all exclusive Business Insider PRIME benefits.