Another factor lubricating the path to physician employment is generational: Doctors now in training appear willing to forsake income for a better quality of life and are less interested in the entrepreneurship required to run a private practice.

WSJ: David Leffell: The Doctor's Office as Union Shop

When businesses are planning to invest, a key factor is the expected path of macroeconomic variables like inflation and real income growth.

FORBES: Federal Reserve Takes Another Step Toward Rule-Based Monetary Policy