2) Have we passed the bottom of the stock market?

It's a continuation of what I wrote on August 1, see below.

Index is now in a REC – an expanding triangle. The index has support around 4180 and resistance around 4310. Breaking up or down with respect to REC or pivot lines will provide direction at least in the short term.

Comment:

For me, it doesn't matter much whether the market goes up or down. One can make money in either case, so I have no desire for one or the other. If you sit still and cannot take advantage of a correction, the market will subsequently rebound, if you are primarily diversified into solid companies.
The recovery comes faster than in the past when you look at the Dow's 100-year history.

When the index fluctuates in a REC or between two pivot lines, it is an expression that the market cannot correctly determine its direction.

Since the bond market has 3 major inversions, it points to a recession. But if it becomes more technical than significant, you don't know. US GDP has been negative over the past two times, but employment is at its peak.
Since mid-June, US02Y has been in an almost horizontal trend between about 2.8 and 3.4. Roughly speaking, this may mean that market confidence remains unchanged in the short term.
The US10Y is on the rise from early August so the spread will be smaller.

Can central banks succeed in reducing inflation by raising interest rates without slowing the economy – consumption so much that corporate earnings fall a great deal, there may be reasoned distrust.
If not overstimulated, the FED at least started raising interest rates too late.

What ultimately determines the price of a business is whether the business is capable of creating value.