SOMETHING IN THE AIR: Have you noticed it? Something different in the air since November 5. People smiling more, happier. It’s called optimism, something that became a rare commodity between 2021 and this year’s elections.

Issues & Insights (I&I) certainly noticed and they present multiple measures demonstrating it’s not our imagination. To cite but one such example, I&I points out that “the RealClearMarkets/TIPP Economic Optimism Index jumped 13.4 percent in November to 53.2, the highest in more than three years. Anything over 50 indicates a positive for optimism, and this is the first time the index has been positive since September 2021.