The summer of good news rolled on until the calendar turned to August.
On Tuesday, the Labor Department showed in its quarterly employment-cost index that employees are continuing to settle for peanuts; the broad measure of wages, salaries and benefits edged up only 0.8 percent in the April-June period.
By Thursday, the gross domestic product report showed that economic growth had slowed to a sustainable 2.2 percent in the second quarter from an overheated 4.9 percent in the first. Even better, price data showed the lowest rate of inflation since the early 1960s.
So the party continued in the financial markets. In particular, the yield on the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond dropped below 6.3 percent, the lowest in a year and a half, while the Dow Jones industrial average barged ahead to well above 8200.
Just after Friday dawned, however, a thunderstorm dampened the enthusiasm. First, the government said that more than 300,000 jobs were created last month, higher than expected, although hourly compensation showed no gain.
Then the National Association of Purchasing Management reported that its monthly business outlook composite index rose, as did, more importantly, its price component.
Doubt and worry returned from vacation in a hurry, and the markets headed south.
