The Three “I’s”

By Lawrence G. McMillan

In 1973, inflation, interest rates, and impeachment dominated headlines during a brutal bear market. Today, a different set of "I's" is making news, yet stocks continue to push higher.

In the large bear market of 1973-1974, it was common for the media to say that the market was worried about the three I’s: inflation, interest rates, and impeachment. Today, we have a huge bull market going on, and it apparently is not all that concerned with the current set of three I’s: inflation, interest rates, and Iran. And if the mid-term elections swing left, you could add the fourth i (impeachment) back into the mix as well.

Obviously, the concerns over inflation and interest rates back in 1973 (during the OPEC Oil Embargo) were much larger than today’s concerns over the same factors, even though today’s rise in the price of oil is at least as great as it was back then. But the action of the two stocks markets (1973 vs. 2026) is completely different – indicating that perhaps other factors are more important, at least for now.

I would venture to guess that, if this current market somehow rolls over into a bear market, the media will be dusting off those old articles about the “three i’s” and maybe upping it to four.