Although the January jobs report, which some analysts project will be bleak, will not be released until later this morning, there are still ominous signs elsewhere for the U.S. economy. As the omicron variant of COVID began to surge in December, some 4.3 million workers quit their jobs with the highest percentage of those quitting being in the accommodations and food services industries. At the same time, an estimated 10.9 million positions remained vacant! The Great Resignation, indeed! And, this happening is occurring at the same time as wages are rising – in fact, the  Elsewhere, the University of Michigan monthly survey of Consumers showed consumer sentiment fell another 3.4 points in January to 67.2, its lowest level in over a decade. At the same time, amid ongoing concerns about spiraling inflation, the core personal consumption expenditures price index (which the Federal Reserve prefers as a measure of inflation) rose by an annual rate of 4.9%, the highest since 1983. Taken together against the backdrop of continuing pandemic issues and risk, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported that consumer spending dropped again during the month of December by an additional 0.6 percent. And finally, President Biden, who seemingly prides himself on breaking down barriers with the first of this, and the first of that, can put another notch on his belt for yet another first as the U.S national debt now exceeds $30 trillion for the first time in history!