I forget where I read the articles but there were two studies which found that negative rates in Europe were actually having the opposite effect of causing people to save more as oppose to spend more because they get less returns and are fearful of the economy. Although we are not negative in the US I would think that low rates could also be muting spending as well. Businesses may like the to buy back shares or borrow for dividends or refinance debt but on an individual level it would be interesting to see if it is materially helping consumer spending. We certainly live in strange times.