During the 1920 s, under a quasi gold standard, the Federal Reserve was revered as the institution that had conquered the business cycle. By 1933, the system was reviled. Its structure was altered and its power center was moved from New York to Washington. Consumer confidence has recently plunged but still remains high. The resilience of the Dow Jones, which has helped maintain the value of margin accounts, may be a factor.
Confidence is also alive in the boardroom.
Then there is the speculation in power plants. Sell your own at a profit. Buy someone else's above cost and watch the utility rates go up. There are many more examples. Then there are Alan Greenspan and others who maintain that the current slowdown is just an inventory correction, even though inventories, particularly for manufacturers' durables, continue to rise.