Stocks fell on Tuesday morning on weak economic data. The Commerce Department reported that retail sales fell 1.3% in May, compared to a revised increase of 0.9% in April. Producer prices rose 6.6% year-over-year in May and 0.8% month-over-month. The Dow fell 0.5%, the S&P fell 0.3%, and the Nasdaq 0.6%. Crude oil traded near $72 per barrel, while gold fell $9 to $1857 per ounce.

With Treasury yields falling back toward the lower end of their three-month range (in a move that started in mid-May), the S&P Technology Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) as well as the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) have risen from their recent slumber and are again demonstrating market leadership. The interest-rate scare for some of the mega-cap Tech stocks began early this year, though others started to lag back in 2020.

U.S. debt levels have quietly and quickly grown over the past 10 years, and total U.S. debt is now more than 125% of GDP, according to the Office of Management & the Budget. This is the highest level since World War II. In the 1980s, the debt/GDP ratio was solidly in the 40% range, and moved up toward the 60% level by 2000. The debt level soared around 2010, as the government spent aggressively to stop the recession and rekindle growth (according to Keynes, that's what the government is supposed to do). However, despite more than 10 years of economic growth prior to the pandemic, the debt level grew as a percentage of GDP. And now, in light of the fiscal spending to fight the impact of COVID-19, debt levels have surged further. This is not a problem that has to be fixed today. After all, interest rates are low on an historical basis and policies to change the trajectory (less spending, more taxes) could push the economy back into decline. But politicians should start to establish a plan to address the issue in the next 10-15 years. If the problem is not solved, the situation could result in hyperinflation or an inability for the government to address long-term problems such as climate change.