With all of the headlines about interest rates hitting record lows—and with the worries about why this has happened and what it means—it is important to put some facts and context around what, in many ways, is an unprecedented set of circumstances. The following piece by Meagan Rogers, manager of Commonwealth’s Fixed Income Research team, does just that. She does an excellent job explaining the what, why, and how of lower yields, and I think it is well worth your time. Thanks, Meagan!

With markets returning to all-time highs, where are the opportunities? Yesterday afternoon, I was on CNBC's Power Lunch to discuss where I see chances for potential growth, including within consumer staples and financials, with co-anchor Tyler Mathisen.

After the pullback in the first quarter of the year, followed by the Brexit collapse and quick recovery, it seems as if the market has pretty much decided to head up. With U.S. markets at all-time highs and earnings coming in better than expected so far, it seems quite likely we will see continued appreciation.

That said, we also need to start thinking about what could potentially bring the stock market's updward climb to an end.

This morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a new all-time high, as did the S&P 500. The news coverage seems to be split between those calling for even higher stock prices and those who are worried that a new bubble is forming.

In fact, it could be both.

Just as I do with the economy, I review the market each month for warning signs of trouble in the near future. Although valuations are now high—a noted risk factor in past bear markets—markets can stay expensive (or get much more expensive) for years and years, which doesn’t give us much to go on timing-wise.

For the second week in a row, the U.S. economy offered positive surprises. Both the service sector—the largest portion of the economy—and the employment market showed marked improvement, with data coming in well above expectations. Coupled with results from the previous week, the latest numbers suggest the economy has started to move again.

The news this month is much better than last, with the most recent economic data showing sharp increases against previously worrying downward trends. Although one month’s data won’t undo those trends, the consistency of the reversal across multiple data sets and the magnitude of the positive surprises are very encouraging.

One story I’ve been following is the recent fatal crash of a Tesla Model S. The car, which was set to autopilot, apparently collided into the side of a truck while the Tesla driver was watching a movie, killing him. Since then, there have been several other Tesla crashes that may have involved the autopilot function failing while the drivers weren’t paying attention.

“More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.” — Woody Allen

After a disappointing six-month period, are things turning around? Two huge headwinds—dollar strength and the collapse in oil—seem to be abating, a positive sign. I discussed these developments and other economic expectations on CNBC’s Squawk Box this morning.