I’ve been saying for a while now that the employment market is approaching boom times, and the initial jobless claims number that came out yesterday backs me up. The number of people who filed new applications for unemployment insurance dropped to a 41-year low this past month, down to a level last seen in 1973.

Although my expectations are for slower growth in the economy, this is actually a positive thing for stocks in the long term. Where are the areas of potential opportunity for investors? Hear what I discussed in an appearance yesterday on CNBC's Power Lunch program. 

Not that long ago, we were discussing the inevitable financial collapse of the U.S. Deficits were through the roof, so was the debt, and all that remained was to find out just how it would end, with a bang or a whimper.

Several readers have reached out to me regarding news articles with headlines like “Clinton to Propose Increasing Capital Gains Taxes,” wanting to know the implications of this and what we should do.

Here at Commonwealth, I’m considered the resident gold bug. In investing, that’s someone who looks to gold as a safe investment, a guarantee against systemic failures, and who is typically bullish about the price of gold.

I don’t actually fit that description, as I’m neither bullish on gold at the moment, nor do I think gold is a safe investment, nor am I a disaster buff looking to use gold as a hedge. I am, however, one of relatively few people in the firm who are even willing to consider using gold in a portfolio in a significant way.

Last week brought a slew of disappointing economic data releases that, together, suggest the U.S. recovery may be slowing. On the bright side, international concerns died down somewhat.

For some reason, when things are good—and they are—I start thinking about the next set of problems. Call it the Eeyore mindset, or just a deep need to try and see around the corner. This gets me into trouble sometimes, as I usually identify five out of every three problems that show up. But to the extent that it lets me think through issues before they become urgent, it’s usually a helpful tendency.

Based on the retail sales data that came out yesterday, it’s time to take a serious look at the prospect that U.S. economic growth is slowing down.

I’m not suggesting that we’re moving back into a recession—just that growth is quite possibly slowing below expectations, and an acceleration may not be coming any time soon. We need to consider why that might be.

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks, to say the least.

In the words of Lenin, someone I don’t normally quote, “There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.” These past few weeks have seen a great deal of change around the world.

The headlines this morning are all about the Greek debt deal that European leaders hammered out over the weekend. Good news, I suppose, but as usual, the devil is in the details.