Fed Chair Jerome Powell Just Said the Quiet Part Out Loud -- and These 6 Words Should Terrify Wall Street and Investors

Jerome Powell's candid observation points to the stock market's biggest threat.

For more than a century, no asset class has come close to matching the annualized return of stocks. This year, we've witnessed the broad-based S&P 500 ( ^GSPC 0.01% ) , ageless Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI 0.51% ) , and innovation-inspired Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC -0.28% ) explode to multiple record-closing highs.

But just because the stock market has proved historically unstoppable over multidecade periods, that doesn't mean getting from Point A to B is without moments of "adventure."

As the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq Composite have soared to rarified territory, so have stock valuations . With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) fueling extraordinary growth for Wall